The Only One
by mmooch
Summary: Some different choices lead to changes in the Scooby relationships. A slightly AU season 3. WARNING: not so Willow or Xander-friendly at the moment.
1. Chapter 1: The Welcome Home Party

**Things Better Left Said**

Summary: Buffy decides to _not_ bury her feelings, per Xander's request.

Warning: Angsty.

Timeline: The Scoobies' fight with Buffy during _'Dead Man's Party'_.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Dialogue copied from .

A/N: I was thinking about this episode and felt the need to vent on Buffy's behalf.

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Buffy: As if I even could've gone to you, Xander. You made your feelings about Angel and I perfectly clear.

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Before anyone could interrupt, Buffy pushed on, determined to get the pain and anger out instead of holding on to it anymore. Xander didn't want her burying things, fine! She wouldn't! "And I get that, really I do! But what I _don't_ get is how you expected me to come to any of you when you blindsided me that day!"

Willow looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Angel suddenly coming back _just_ as I'm about to strike the killing blow? Gee, thanks for the warning that that could happen, guys!" the Slayer snapped. "Do you have the _slightest_ clue how that felt? The part of him that I loved and hoped would come back for months _finally_ comes back to me and I have to kill him to save the world," she finished, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

She took a deep breath and continued, "Add to that, my mother telling me not to come home if I left to save the world. And this after being shot at by the police because Snyder told them I killed Kendra…once he finished expelling me, that is. And just for your information, I _did_ check to make sure you were all okay before I left. Sure, you weren't okay-okay, but you were alive and up and about. And I left a note for my mom to let her know that I survived the fight."

"Why didn't you tell us this the other night at Giles'?" Willow asked, a little hurt by the anger in Buffy's voice. _She_ wasn't the injured party here, _they_ were. They were supposed to be upset with her, not the other way around.

"Oh, you mean open up in front of a crowd of people? Some of whom were acting hostile to me? Gee, I can't imagine why!" Buffy answered with an obvious look in Xander's direction. "Did it occur to you that maybe I wanted to talk to you when you stood me up, Willow?"

"What did you expect after abandoning us to do _your_ duty?" Xander spit out.

She glared back. "Other than you not knowing where I was, how would this summer have been any different from last summer when I was gone? Yeah, I didn't think so," she snarled. "And why exactly _should_ I have told you where I was? _'Kick his ass!'_ Sound familiar? I wasn't feeling the warm fuzzies for you or Willow at the time. If she was going to try the spell again, I'd have rather known so my heart wouldn't have been torn out by the shock when his soul returned. But no, I get the _'Kick his ass!'_ speech instead."

Buffy sat down, suddenly drained of her anger. "The only one I felt bad about leaving was Giles. But I honestly thought he wouldn't want to see me again after he'd been tortured by the _thing_ that wore the face of my first love. I just couldn't think of the right words to apologize to him. Nothing could make it okay for him and me."

She snorted, "It's ironic that he's the only one who hasn't tried to make me feel bad when he's the only one who has the _right_ to. Maybe the Council had it right when they said it should just be the Watcher and Slayer together. They understand each other better than anyone else can. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find _my_ Watcher and try to apologize to him as best I can."


	2. Chapter 2: The Real Welcome Home

**The Real Welcome Home**

Summary: The aftermath of _'The Only One'_. Beginning of a series for an AU season 3.

Timeline: Season 2, between _'Dead Man's Party'_ and _'Faith, Hope and Trick'_.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

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Buffy made her way to Giles' apartment for her post-patrol check-in as she thought about the week since her 'welcome home party'. She snorted, some welcome. Her friends invited a bunch of people she didn't know and proceeded to ignore her the whole night; her mother invited her new bestest friend and complained about how unhappy she was that Buffy was back. So Buffy figured that since nobody really wanted her there that she'd make them happy and leave.

Then Willow and her mom caught her and that started the fight where everyone was so happy to harp on her about how she'd hurt them all and caused them a summer of grief and pain. Finally she'd had it and she snapped back, pointing out that she didn't really have much choice in leaving.

She was about to storm out and find the only person she felt she _did_ owe an apology to when a bunch of zombies crashed through the windows and doors. The group managed to pull together long enough to fight them off and Buffy destroyed the mask that was powering the zombies. The others tried to grab her to talk once they gathered in the living room, but Buffy wasn't ready to deal with them. She pulled Giles out of the house and asked if they could go talk in private.

A few hours and a box of tissues later, she'd finished apologizing to him and explaining everything that happened that day and that summer. She begged him for forgiveness but said she'd understand if he couldn't. Course she was lying through her teeth and was internally chanting to him to forgive her since she couldn't handle him hating her.

He just glared at her in that way he had and called her a silly girl for ever thinking that he wouldn't . Then he surprised her by pulling her in for a hug, saying that he'd wanted to do that when he first saw her in his door when she returned but was afraid that she or the others would misconstrue it.

Then he gently pointed out that it was very unlikely that Willow would have said such a thing for Xander to pass along. Especially if she were trying to attempt the spell again. It was more likely that he chose not to tell her because she finally looked ready to end things and he was worried that giving her hope would cause her to falter.

Buffy ducked her head as she considered this and agreed that he was probably right on both counts. But unfortunately, it still hurt. She knew that she'd let them all down when she couldn't kill Angelus before, but to think that Xander had so little faith in her that he thought she'd let Angelus end the world as she stalled for time until Willow's spell could work? No, that bothered her just as much. Hadn't she proved that she was willing to lay down even her own life to save the world just a year ago? Wasn't that enough?

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Apparently she wasn't the only one who'd thought that. A repentant Xander had come to her a day later to say he was sorry. All he could say was that he was upset by everything that had happened with Willow getting hurt and Kendra dying and Giles being taken that he forgot about her sacrifice and could only focus on the fact that she let Angelus escape before and he didn't want to risk it again.

Both Giles and Willow had reamed him out pretty good for what he said – both that day and also when he knew the rest of what she had to deal with that night with her mom, Snyder and the police. He just couldn't let go of his anger that she'd abandoned them.

She made her own apologies, sort of. She found it hard to apologize for leaving someone who'd hurt her so much. But she knew the words had to be said anyway. Then she told him that she wouldn't let him continue to make her feel bad about it so if he couldn't let it go, they'd have to try to minimize their time together.

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Buffy's next visit with Willow had gone much better. They both felt hurt, but realized that they couldn't really blame the other fully for it anymore. Giles had talked to Willow as well and laid down the law with her.

They'd shared story after story about their respective summers. Buffy won 'most interesting' with her escape from hell story. Then they talked in depth about Angel and Angelus. Buffy realized that even though she tried not to, she'd started mourning Angel the moment she learned that Angelus was back. That was part of why it hurt so much to suddenly get Angel back – if even for a few minutes. She had to start mourning him all over again.

Willow was sorry for causing her friend more grief, but Buffy shrugged it off, saying that she couldn't have known what would happen. The two of them made their way to the mansion where Buffy removed the ring that Angel had given her and placed it on the mantle in the living room as a final goodbye to her first love.

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Her talk with her mother, however, was much worse than the others. Joyce tried to tell Buffy that there were ground rules that she had to follow. When she tried to remind her daughter that she didn't have enough time to process everything before Buffy walked out the door that night, her daughter'd had enough.

Buffy told her mother that she actually had almost two years to process what she told her. She brutally reminded her that the first time Buffy had said anything about being the Slayer, that she and her dad had her committed to an asylum. So there was no reason why Buffy should have tried to tell her again. Nor was there any reason for Joyce to pretend that this came out of nowhere.

When it came to slaying, Buffy explained, there could be no ground rules. She understood that normal teenage stuff still required curfews and such. But she had a duty to the people of Sunnydale and the world that couldn't be impeded by Joyce's 'ground rules'. If she really couldn't handle dealing with that, the Council would help Buffy get her emancipation so she could be on her own and Joyce could forget she ever had a daughter.

It took three days – and more than one screaming fit directed at Giles – before Joyce came back with her answer. As much as she hated Buffy being the Slayer, she didn't want to lose her daughter any sooner than she had to because of it. She had broken down in tears when Giles had told her that she almost did already when Buffy died at the hands of the Master. When she heard that, all the horrible things she'd said and done since Buffy was Called troubled her so much that she had to race to the bathroom and empty her stomach. That was deciding factor for her.

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A/N: I've decided to turn this into an AU of season 3 to fix the bigger mistakes – as I saw them – of the year.


	3. Chapter 3: Faith and Angel

**Chapter 3: Faith and Angel**

Summary: Faith arrives and Angel returns.

Timeline: Season 2, post-_'Faith, Hope and Trick'_ and before _'Beauty and the Beasts'_.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

A/N: This changes the 'BatB' episode because _really_, if Buffy had been dating Scott for a while, wouldn't she or Faith have run into Angel already? Especially given his feral state? For that matter, how would he have had the presence of mind to get partially dressed?

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**Restview Cemetery**

Giles looked over at his Slayer as they walked through the graveyard. He may have the responsibility for training Faith for the moment, but _Buffy_ was his Slayer. Always would be. He wondered if he should tell her that. Would it reassure her of her place with him or would it make her feel like property?

Buffy seemed to be recovering nicely after her talks with her mother and friends. Things were still tense, but they were getting better…for the most part. Then Faith came into town. Giles couldn't fault the new girl for the trouble she stirred up. She was running scared and went to the one person she thought could help her. How was she to know that it would cause Buffy problems?

The two most obvious being Xander and Joyce. Although Faith's arrival pointed out – at least to him – what the main problem with Xander and Buffy really was. He viewed her as a one-dimensional hero from one of those foolish comic books of his. Not that the books themselves were foolish, just that the boy couldn't see beyond them. In his mind, heroes weren't allowed to be realistic, with doubts and mistakes. They were supposed to be able to handle any crisis, regardless of the cost to themselves.

Giles ducked his head in shame. That sounded so much like him when he first arrived in Sunnydale. That is what the Council taught him to expect of the Slayer. She was an emotionless drone who would do her Calling as instructed. Like poor Kendra tried to.

He shook himself to get back to his previous thoughts. Ah yes, Joyce. She had been so pleased that there was another Slayer around to ease the burden off Buffy – until she was reminded of how it came about. But still, Joyce clung to the fantasy that Faith could take over for Buffy, not realizing that she was being unfair to both girls with that attitude. Faith, for burdening the younger Slayer with that destiny alone and Buffy, for implying that she couldn't do it as well.

Everything that went on with Faith those first few days made Buffy feel like she was being – what did she call it? – _'single white femaled'_? Whatever that meant. He assumed she felt that she was being pushed aside for the latest model of Slayer though.

With that in mind, he made his decision.

"Buffy?" he called to her.

She turned with a concerned look. His intense introspection had her stomach all in knots. "Yeah Giles?" she managed to get out without sounding as nervous as she felt.

"You know that _you're_ my Slayer, right? I'm just training Faith until her new Watcher arrives. Not that I think I own you or anything. Just that you come first with me. Not that--" he started to ramble.

She cut him off with an unexpected and fierce hug. "Thank you, Giles. I needed to hear that, especially from you. And I know what you mean. I feel the same way, Watcher-mine."

"Ah, good then." He pulled out of her arms and scrubbed his glasses furiously to cover his embarrassment and pleasure that they were together in this co-ownership. "Well, should we move on?"

Buffy smirked at her stuffy Englishman. _Hers_. She liked the feel of that. It was safe and secure – and at the same time caused her heart to flutter in excitement. "Sounds like a plan," she said to help diffuse the situation.

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**2 Cemeteries later…**

It was shaping up to be a slow night for the Watcher and Slayer when they were suddenly attacked near a mausoleum. They managed to subdue the assailant and when his face came into view, they both gasped in shock and horror. Angel! Or was it Angelus?

A glance at Buffy's stunned face kept Giles from ramming a stake through the heart of the monster in front of them. Such pain and confusion. He hoped to help take it away from her.

"Why is he back?" she pled with tear-filled eyes.

He put his arm around her. "I'm not sure. We'll have to research how it could be possible."

Buffy studied her former lover before asking, "Does he seem different somehow?"

"You mean, besides being naked?" Giles asked sardonically.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I was hoping to repress that topic. What was bothering me was he seemed more like Oz whenever he goes wolfy."

He recalled the beastly manner in which Angel(us) attacked them and nodded, "He does appear to be more feral than normal, even for a newly-raised fledgling."

Buffy looked around aimlessly. "We should probably lock him up somewhere safe until we can figure this out, right?"

Giles shook his head, "I don't think the school would be a good place for him."

"That only leaves…" she trailed off suddenly.

He looked at her with confusion. "What?"

Buffy bit her lip, not wanting to have this discussion with him. "I don't want to say. It's not right to ask it of you."

His eyes widened in realization. There was only one place that would hold Angel. And he knew why she would hesitate to suggest it. To be honest, he wasn't thrilled about the idea himself. "Ahh, the mansion."

She put a hand on his arm to assure him. "I can do it myself so you don't have to go back there again."

Giles smiled gratefully at her concern. "Buffy, I've been there since…what happened."

"Maybe, but not with _him_," she said, pointing to the unconscious figure at their feet.

"That's true," he agreed. "However, you're right; that is the best place to keep him. He'd be secure and out of the way until we can determine what happened and what to do about it," he put it as vaguely as he dared to.

But she knew what he meant by it; she had thought of it herself…regretfully. "You think I'll have to slay him again?"

He took her hands in his. "If it comes to that, I or Faith will take care of it," he promised, not wanting to put her through killing her first love yet again.

She shook her head to clear the memories closing in. "No. It shouldn't be Faith. If it has to be done, one of us should do it. It only seems right," she finished quietly.

"Before we start making our plans, why don't we find out if we need to first?" Giles suggested. Part of him – a large part – hoped that it would be necessary to get rid of the creature. He could mentally separate Angel from Angelus and while Angel was occasionally a valuable ally, he still caused Buffy great pain that she shouldn't have to deal with.

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**Crawford Mansion**

They dragged him to the mansion and Giles stood guard over the prone figure while Buffy pulled out the chains and manacles to secure him. Once that was done, they noticed the scorch marks on the floor where Angel apparently re-materialized. The last time either had been there, there hadn't been the outline of a body in front of the fireplace.

Giles knelt near the marks, gently tracing them with his fingers. "I wonder how long he has been back?"

Buffy stood a few feet away from the still unconscious vampire, clearly torn about how she felt about his being there. "Well, I came here with Willow about two weeks ago and this wasn't here. Do you really think that he could be _Angel_?"

He stood and moved next to her, studying the creature again with objective eyes. "From what little is known about hell dimensions – part of which you yourself have told me – time moves differently there and they aren't pleasure locations."

"So probably years of pain and suffering?" she asked, remembering her own brief time in a hell dimension while she was in LA that last summer.

Giles put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. When she was looking at him, he replied, "Sorry to say, but more like _hundreds_ of years."

Buffy leaned against the wall and let out a deep sigh, "Can I say that while I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, I'm really relieved that you were with me tonight? I can't even begin to imagine how I'd ever be able to tell you about this if I came across him alone."

"Why is that?" he asked, taking a position next to her.

"Because even though I've gotten over my crush-type love of Angel, I feel responsible to give him a chance to prove himself before killing him. And knowing what he did to you, I don't know that I could ask it of you to wait for that," she said quietly, studying the floor intently.

Giles gave his own sigh, "While it is unpleasant for me to be around him, I want you to know that you can't let that kind of thinking rule you. It would be much more painful for me to know that you kept something like this a secret from me than it would be to face him again. It would feel like you didn't trust me."

Buffy's head snapped up. "Never! I trust you with my life! And whatever is really big and important! The others I might not have told because I don't entirely trust their reactions, but you…The only reason I wouldn't have told you is to spare you the pain of having to deal with him," she rushed to reassure him.

He looked at her with a sad smile. "I appreciate that, but please don't. We are to be partners in this and sometimes that means sharing painful things."

Needing to lighten the mood, Buffy joked, "So I should tell you when Scott decides to stand me up for a date? Or when he tells me he doesn't like a certain hairstyle?"

Giles stepped away from the wall toward the front door. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began to polish his glasses. "Oh dear, I have stepped in it now, haven't I?"

On a roll now, she hammered on as she caught up to him, "Or when my mom grounds me because I did poorly on a test?"

"That's quite enough," he responded with his best glare.

Which she promptly ignored to continue her banter, "Or when my mean Watcher expects me to do extra training because I blew off patrolling for a date?"

"I said-- When did you do that?" he demanded, stopping in his tracks.

Buffy smile and grabbed his arm. "Let's go, Watcher-mine. I'm guessing that this new thing is going to take some heavy-duty research. Do you think we could keep it between the two of us for now? Between Xander and Miss Loves-to-Slay, I don't think they'd be willing to wait until we finished."

Giles looked disconcerted at the idea. "And Willow?"

"Can't keep a secret to save her life," she explained. "Do you mind? I mean, if we have to bring anyone else in, I would think Oz would be our best choice. But he might not like keeping this from Willow either."

He let out a sigh of resignation, "For now. But you have to tell them he's back eventually."

She quickly agreed, "When we know more, okay?"

"Alright. By the way, extra training tomorrow," he added with an evil smirk.

Buffy looked at him in surprise. "For what?"

"For thinking that you could get away with teasing me about it. And I'm sure you deserve it anyway," Giles told her glibly.

"Can we at least have ice cream after?" she pouted her best pout.

"Sure," he started to agree. "_Your_ treat," he laughed as he moved ahead of her again.

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A/N: That takes care of big mistake number 1! Buffy not telling Giles about Angel.


	4. Chapter 4: The Beasts Within

**Chapter 4: The Beasts Within**

Summary: Dealing with a recovering Angel and a new threat.

Timeline: Season 3, _Beauty and the Beasts'_.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

A/N: There's some AU-ness happening.

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The next few weeks were interesting for the Watcher and Slayer. Not just because of their researching the return of Angel – which they were no wiser about yet – but also because of the Jekyll/Hyde boy.

Angel was slowly becoming less feral, though not as quickly as either Buffy or Giles were hoping for. They needed him to be able tell them what happened to him, and if he knew how he could come back. His lack of progress concerned them.

"Do you think that I should try giving him some of my blood? Maybe it's stronger than animal or human blood," Buffy suggested one night after they left the mansion.

Shaking his head adamantly, Giles answered, "It's bad enough that we are mixing _human_ blood in with the animal. We still don't know if we are dealing with Angel or Angelus. Making him strong might not be a good idea, Buffy. We certainly don't want to give him _your_ blood. That is like a drug to a vampire. It may cure him, but he'll want more eventually. And if this is Angelus, we don't want to tempt him. It's better we just take a little bit longer." He silently added to himself that he didn't want that if it were Angel either.

Buffy sighed, impatient for this to be over with. "Fine. I'm just getting tired of hiding this from the gang." She saw the look in Giles' eyes and quickly added, "But I'm not going to tell them until I know _who_ that is."

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**Library**

"So, what do we think this thing is that killed Jeff?" Buffy asked when she got caught up on the events of the previous night.

"Well, the reports indicated that he was mutilated…that indicates some kind of wild beast," Giles said reluctantly, knowing that he might hurt young Oz's feelings.

Xander looked at the book cage with a hint of shame. "And I fell asleep on Oz duty, so he might have been able to escape."

Buffy saw the forlorn looks on Willow and Oz's faces, and interjected, "Or it could be a demon." she glanced around the room at the others. "Hey, vamps and werewolves aren't the only nasties out there. 'Sides, you _really_ think that Oz's wolfy side snuck out, attacked Jack, cleaned itself up, then crawled back in here this morning? Sorry, but I doubt it's that much of a thinker."

"Hey! You're right!" Willow instantly perked up. Even the expression on Oz's face seemed a touch brighter…for him, that is.

"We might want to do something about that window though, for future reference," Giles pointed out.

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**Outside the counselor's office**

Later that day, Buffy was passing by Mr. Platt's office when she heard a low growl through the slightly open door. She peeked in to see Debbie's boyfriend, Pete – or something that looked kinda like him – sneaking up behind Platt's chair.

Going on her instincts, she tackled the Pete-thing to the ground, kicking the office door shut as she did so to keep other people out. Platt had told her during one of her talks with him that he had the door lock automatically when shut to keep people – like the principal – out when he was in private consultations. It wouldn't keep them out indefinitely, but they would have to go get the key for the door first. She just hoped that she could get control of the guy in time.

Startled by the noise, Platt turned to see his 'problem' student, Buffy Summers, wrestling something that reminded him of a young Freddy Krueger. He glanced around for a weapon of some kind in case he needed to defend himself. He would worry about Miss Summers, except she seemed to be holding her own with the monster.

Just then, Pete broke free of Buffy's grip and lunged for Platt. Fortunately for the counselor, he managed to grab hold of an award he got from his last job – a big, crystal statue of Rodin's _'Thinker'_ – and he swung it at the beast. His luck continued to hold out because he hit Pete in the head just before Pete could slash at him.

As Pete lay there stunned, Buffy demanded Platt's leather belt and used it to bind Pete's hands. Then she tore the phone cord out and used that to bind his feet.

"So…" she started, leaning back against the wall and looking up at Platt, "…think you can help me with my violence issues?"

Platt let out a slightly hysterical laugh,then recovered. "I'm guessing that when you said you had demons to face, you weren't being metaphorical?"

"Sorry, nope. This is my life. But I do have my personal metaphorical demons, too," she admitted. She bit her lip for a moment before confessing, "And talking to you about them has helped."

Platt smiled at her. "Tell you what, I'll help you with your issues, and you can tell me how to stay safe here – since I doubt that this is the only thing I'll have to face."

A groan filled the room, and they watched in horrified fascination as the Pete-thing's body reverted back to that of the teenage boy.

Before either one could say anything else, the door swung open to reveal a glaring Snyder. He took one look at the situation, then grinned evilly at Buffy. "I just knew that you'd slip up again. This time you're out for good!" he gloated.

"For what?" Platt demanded.

"Fighting on school grounds." A glazed look came to the principal's eyes as he imagined getting rid of her. "I bet I could even have her arrested for assault," he almost moaned in pleasure at the thought.

Platt nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, you could do that. I bet it would make a great news story, too." Buffy looked hurt at the counselor's apparent betrayal. Then he winked at her. "I can see the headline now: _'Teen hero expelled for saving school counselor's life!'_ I bet it could even go state-wide."

Snyder's gleeful expression dropped, and he stormed out of the office, pushing people out of his way and yelling at everyone.

While a secretary made the call to the police, Buffy whispered, "Thanks for that. Come by the library after school, and I'll fill you in on the town's problems."

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A/N: Next...The fight for a tiara.


	5. Chapter 5: The Trouble With Tiaras

**Chapter 5: The Trouble With Tiaras**

Summary: Even without the need to validate her high school existence with a crown, Buffy still ends up in a limo with Cordelia.

Timeline: Season 3, _'Homecoming'_ with bits of _'Revelations'_.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

A/N: There's major AU-ness in this episode, even in Buffy and Cordy's talk.

A/N2: Thanks to AshDawnSoulmates and zigpal for checking this out for me.

Warning: Confrontation between Buffy and Xander, so if you are a fan of his, don't bother.

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**Platt's office**

Buffy pouted unhappily as she sat in the counselor's office, recounting her earlier talk with her teacher, "My favorite teacher didn't even know who I was!"

Knowing the teacher in question, Platt replied calmly, "It's not surprising, seeing as how she's one of the teachers who tend to overlook the strange things that happen around here."

"What do you mean?" the blonde Slayer asked.

She was so happy that she was able to save this guy. Even happier that she could share _all _of her problems with him and not hide them behind code phrases. Giles was good for talking, but he had his own bias of certain situations. And since she came back, she found it harder and harder to confide in her friends. Guess it was bound to happen; she just thought it would happen _after_ high school, when they went their separate ways for college.

Pulling out a cigarette and staring at it, Platt started to explain, "Since my own little introduction into your more dangerous activities, I've checked with the other staff members to see if any knew what really goes on in Sunnydale. Without mentioning you specifically, of course," he hastily added, not wanting her to think he would betray her secret.

Intrigued, Buffy prompted, "And…?"

Platt shrugged. "It's split pretty evenly, but most of the ones who accept the truth realize you're the reason things have gotten better the past couple years. They just haven't said anything because they aren't sure they should. Respect for your privacy and all that. You know, one of them could tell Snyder how glad they are that you're back," the counselor suggested. He only wished that he could do that for her. Unfortunately, that troll of a principal insisted that it had to be a _teacher._

That surprised Buffy; the teachers – or at least some of them – knew about her but didn't want to bother her? "Really?" she managed to gasp out.

He gave her unwavering look. "Of course. Self preservation is a strong motivator for people. And while they might not believe you are a great student, they certainly understand why you have trouble keeping up with your studies. I think if you talked to them, they would be happy to help you with that – as long as you were willing to work with them," he warned so that she didn't think they'd give her a free pass.

Buffy bit her lip, considering it. If she really could have a future past high school, maybe she should think about college after all. "I'll ask Giles if that's okay. He might not mind, as long as I don't tell them anything specific. After all, he's okay with you knowing. Relieved even, now that I have somebody else to confide in."

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**Lunchroom**

**Same time…**

Willow looked at the rest of the group, clearly unhappy about something. "Does anyone else think it's weird Buffy is spending her lunch with the counselor instead of us?" she asked, revealing the source of her unhappiness.

"She did just have her boyfriend break up with her at the same time she found out her favorite teacher didn't know who she was. She's bound to need to talk about it," Oz pointed out with his usual stoicism.

His answer didn't have the calming effect on Willow that he intended, though. She pouted as she stabbed at the food on her plate. "But she used to talk to us about those things."

"Now she doesn't need us; she has her _grown-up_ friends to talk to," Xander piped up sarcastically.

Oz fought to keep from rolling his eyes – which was saying something, given his level of self-control. "It could be comments like that which make her ask for help from somebody else. Just saying."

Turning her attention back to them, Cordy snapped at Xander, "Haven't you worked out your anger issues yet? How am I supposed to get her help on my campaign if she's fighting with my boyfriend?"

"Sorry. I'll be sure to swallow my pride for the sake of your race to get the crown," Xander promised with his best snarky tone.

"That's better," his girlfriend retorted, choosing to ignore his attitude.

However, Willow felt it necessary to clarify, "I think he was being sarcastic."

Rolling her eyes, Cordy replied, "Doesn't matter; just as long as he does it. Now, let's talk strategy!" Like she didn't already know that about Xander. She wasn't an idiot, after all.

* * *

**Later…**

"Sorry, Cordy. I'm busy with school and slaying stuff," Buffy answered regretfully. The meetings with the teachers went well…that is, if you could count extra assignments to catch up as a good thing. But they promised to help tutor her if necessary. Then there was the Angel situation she and Giles still had to deal with.

Not easily dissuaded, Cordy pushed, "All I'm asking is for you to do some polling or hand out fliers. Even _you_ should be able to handle that."

Buffy bit her tongue to keep from snapping at the brunette. "Wow. Even though that is a great sales pitch, I'm gonna have to pass. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to talk to Ms. Phillips about World History," she told the Scoobies before she made her way out of the student lounge area.

When she was out of Slayer earshot, Xander ground out, "Does anyone really believe _that's_ how she's spending her time?"

"I wonder if she has a new sweetie or something," Willow theorized.

Amazed that they would ignore the obvious, Oz suggested, "Here's a crazy theory: maybe she's meeting with Ms. Phillips to talk about her World History class."

Willow shook her head, though not very confidently, "But she comes to me for homework stuff."

"She still does. Buffy asked you about math this morning, didn't she? It could be something she had to ask the teacher about," her boyfriend responded.

* * *

**Library**

**Next day…**

Xander stormed into the library where the rest of the group was studying. "Found out Buffy's secret. You know, why she doesn't have time for any of us anymore? Deadboy's back and she's too busy trying to swallow his face to hang with us," he announced.

"What?!?" they chorused, minus Giles.

The Watcher stood there, waiting to see how this would play out. He had the strong suspicion this could make or break the group – depending on how they handled this. A quick glance at his office confirmed that Buffy had heard Xander's accusation and was also waiting for the right moment to reveal her presence.

"I followed her after school to the mansion where – big surprise – her bloodsucking boyfriend was. Then even bigger shock, she's making out with him! You would have thought she learned her lesson," Xander griped moodily.

Apparently that was the cue Buffy was waiting for. She stepped out of the office, much to the surprise of most of the occupants of the room. "Which, _hey_, I did! If you had stuck around for five more seconds, you would have seen me push Angel away. He's the one who kissed me. But I guess that doesn't fit into your 'Buffy is always wrong' view, does it?" she defended herself.

Willow gave her a wounded look. "Why didn't you tell us he was back?"

Buffy just snorted in return, "Excuse me? Didn't you just hear Xander's rant? Why do you think?" Then she calmed herself down, and continued, "Besides, when he came back, we weren't sure if he was Angel or Angelus. Or how it was possible for him to return. Or _why_ he returned. He's only been semi-lucid for a couple days now."

"We? Who else knew?" Willow asked, looking at Faith suspiciously, guessing the dark-haired Slayer was in on this.

Giles moved to his Slayer's side and replied, "I did. We ran into him on patrol one evening, and locked him up at the mansion for his safety as well as our own. We've been researching ever since."

Staring at the Watcher/Slayer pair for her answers, Faith asked, "So I'm guessing since he isn't a pile of dust, it's the non-evil version?"

"It appears to be. And subtlety was never Angelus' strong suit. If he were evil, he would have made it clear by now," Giles confirmed.

"So what happens the next time Buffy gives him the big happy?" Cordy asked with her usual lack of tact.

Sighing, Buffy explained, "First, there is not 'next time' for me and Angel. Second, we've found a shaman to permanently bind his soul so that it can't happen, anyway. That's why Angel was kissing me. He thought it meant we could be together now."

Now it was Xander's turn to snort in disbelief, "Oh right! Like you'd give up a chance to be with him!"

By this point, Buffy had enough of his snide comments. She growled, "You know what? I warned you before I wasn't going to let you talk to me like this anymore. I said it was over between me and Angel, and that should be good enough. I don't want to talk to you again until you can be civil." She turned to her Watcher and said, "See you later for training, Giles."

Giles just glared at Xander before going to his office, slamming the door behind him. He needed some time alone, otherwise Ripper might make an appearance.

Somewhat amused, Faith watched the stunned group for a minute. Then she stood up, dusted herself off and declared, "Well, I'm out of here. This is too much drama for me." She was hoping to catch up to her sister-Slayer and see if she wanted to pound on some bad guys for a while. She guessed the blonde would need to blow off some steam.

* * *

**A few days later…**

After getting settled in the limousine, Buffy looked at the only other occupant and inquired, "What's going on, Cordy?"

"I had the others take a different limo 'cause I wanted to talk to you privately. Get your side of things," Cordy answered.

Suspicious that this was yet _another_ attempt to get her to cave on the Xander situation, Buffy asked, "Why?"

Uncharacteristically hesitant, Cordy replied, "Well, it could be the royal ass-chewing Giles gave us – once he calmed down enough not to make it physical. Or it could be that I need somebody to talk to, and you might be the only one I can trust. How sad is that?" she muttered under her breath.

Buffy was surprised enough by the change in the brunette's attitude to drop her defensiveness. "What's wrong? And why can't you talk to your boyfriend about it?"

"He's kinda part of the problem. Besides, there's something strange going on with him and Willow right now. They're acting very weird the last few days. And I don't think it has anything to do with the Angel thing. Speaking of which, what is the deal with him?" Cordy deflected, not ready to share just yet.

"We still haven't been able to figure out how he escaped Acathla's dimension, but it doesn't really matter as long as his soul is intact," Buffy answered. Then she added, "If it makes you guys feel any better, he's gone now. Once he knew I was serious about not getting back together, he decided that fighting by my side as my friend wasn't enough for him. But we'll keep in touch in case there's a need for extra muscle."

"You don't sound that broken up about it. You really _are_ over him, aren't you?" Cordy inquired rhetorically. She was actually very surprised by the realization.

Buffy nodded, "Yep. So, you never told me what your problem is that you think I'd understand."

Deciding to just bite the bullet, Cordy blurted out, "I don't want the crown as much as people think."

"Huh?" Buffy was seriously confused.

Cordy took a deep breath before she explained, "See, all my life, I've been told what will make my parents proud of me: having the right friends, dating the right boys, being the most popular."

"How does Xander work into that?" the blonde Slayer asked, guessing that the Chases wouldn't be very pleased with him.

Which they weren't. Cordy's answer confirmed it, "My parents are very disappointed in me for _'lowering myself to his level'_."

Buffy sucked in a sharp breath. "Harsh." She may not be happy with the guy at the moment, but that seemed unnecessarily mean of them. Sadly, she remembered that attitude from her Hemery days.

"Yeah. Anyway, this crown was supposed to make up for it. You know, prove to them that I'm still their little princess who rules the school. But knowing the truth about Sunnydale makes it seem so lame now." Cordy figured that she might as well tell Buffy everything now. "Ever since that time with Marcie when you first got here…it just doesn't matter as much. On the other hand, they're my parents, and I want them to love me."

"I get that. It's why I've tried so hard to have normal things in my life since becoming the Slayer. Just to have something to show them to make them proud," Buffy said sympathetically.

"I knew that you'd understand. What do I do?" the brunette pleaded for help.

"For one thing, I'd suggest talking to Mr. Platt about this. He's really great at listening, and he's helped me…a lot. But my opinion? You need to decide how long you are going to live your life by other people's expectations. Not just your parents', but everyone's – even your friends'," Buffy suggested, paraphrasing some of the things the counselor had told her.

Cordy was surprised at the other girl's insight. "You have expectations of me?"

"I'm a friend? Sorry, couldn't help myself," Buffy apologized at the flash of hurt she saw. "Sure I do. People always have expectations of other people. It's human nature. The trick is to not let it define you."

Playing with the dagger she brought with her in case of emergency, Buffy went on, "For example, you guys see me as the Slayer in a Buffy shell, and that's how I've lived the past two years. But what I learned when I was gone last summer is I'm equal parts Buffy and Slayer. I'm the thing evil fears, but I'm still human; I make mistakes. When I do, I need to be forgiven, just like anyone else. And part of forgiving is not holding those mistakes against me forever."

Suddenly understanding Buffy's blow-up the other day, Cordy ventured a guess, "And you think Xander will?"

Buffy shrugged, as if she hadn't decided that or not, "Maybe. I mean, instead of asking me what the deal with Angel was, he went to you guys to tell on me. Like I was a naughty puppy that misbehaved and needed to be trained to behave better. At least that's how it felt to me."

"And apparently to Giles," Cordy added with a grimace.

"So he really got that upset?" Buffy asked. She guessed she really shouldn't be that surprised; they had grown a lot closer since she came back. He was the one pushing her to think about surviving beyond Sunnydale High.

Cordy gave a wry chuckle. "Oh yeah. Not that I think he's Angel's biggest fan or anything, but he let us know that the choice not to stake him was mutual. He also told us that you hadn't shown any interest in reclaiming your boyfriend – only in finding out what happened to get him out of hell."

Something pinged in Buffy's mind abruptly. Not her spidey sense, but just the general feeling that there was badness happening. "Umm, sorry to interrupt this little sharing session, but did you tell the driver to take his time?" she asked.

Startled by the change in subject, Cordy managed to reply, "What? No."

"Then I think something is wrong here," Buffy said just as the vehicle pulled to a stop, and they heard the driver – presumably – running away. They cautiously got out the limo and stepped into 'Slayerfest '98'.

* * *

**Library**

**Later…**

Staring at the pile of dust that used to be Gorch, Buffy gasped out between laughs, "Oh my god! That was too funny! Guess your Queen C-ness has some usefulness, after all."

"Cute, Slaygal. But it wasn't as funny as you killing the little wifey with the spatula. See, I told you it was a good weapon," Cordy replied smugly.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Only because of the wooden handle."

Caught off-guard at the girls' unusual camaraderie, Giles inquired, "Are you two alright?"

"Peachy with a side of keen, Watcher-mine!" Buffy proclaimed.

Cordy heard the faint sound of the PA coming from the gym and commented blandly, "Oh, they're announcing the Homecoming Queen."

"You want to find out? Or we could go get some frozen yogurt. Take care of the post-slaying urges," a teasing Slayer tempted.

Shuddering at the memory of their first talk with the younger Slayer, Cordy snapped, "Eww, stop channeling Faith! I _so_ do not want to be like her. But the yogurt sounds good…if you make it ice cream," she counter-offered.

Buffy nodded, ice cream did sound better tonight. "You got it. Want to join us, Giles? We can tell you all about our adventures tonight," she invited.

"Alright. I just need to let the others know you two are okay. I'm assuming you don't want to be seen like that in front of the entire student body?" Giles guessed.

Both girls nodded. They may have made some strides in not caring what others thought, but going out looking like they did was asking too much. Besides, they were tired from the night's events. "Good guess. We'll grab our treats and go to your place so you can journal to your heart's content," Buffy suggested.

* * *

A/N: Next...I Want Candy, or Not.


	6. Chapter 6: I Want Candy, or Not

**Chapter 6: I Want Candy, or Not**

Summary: The chocolate had an added ingredient that caused even more trouble for people.

Timeline: Season 3, _'Band Candy'_.

A/N: Okay, my _'BC'_ version of Giles is different. He was Ripper in his 20's and the candy reverted the adults to teens and I'm choosing to show him differently. Can't believe how long this chapter got!

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way. **Mention of sex. Oh, and you may not like how Willow and Xander are being portrayed.**

Thanks to my beta: zigpal.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Transcript stuff from .

Snyder: It's band candy.

Buffy: Let's hear it for the band, huh? Very generous.

Snyder: You will sell it to raise money for the marching band. They need new uniforms.

Xander: Yeah. Those tall, fuzzy hats ain't cheap, huh?

Oz: But they go with everything.

Willow smiles at that.

Buffy: I'm sure we love the idea of going all Willy Loman, but we're not in the band.

Snyder: And if I'd handed you a trombone, that would've been a problem, Summers. (holds out a box) It's candy. (she takes it) Sell it.

**Sunnydale High**

**A couple days later…**

Watching the teen-ish Snyder _prance_ away from them, Cordy turned to her friends with a horrified expression. "Okay, was anyone else as creeped out by Snyder as I was just now?"

Oz and Buffy both nodded their heads in agreement. They shuddered as they recalled the principal's attempt to be their 'buddy'. It was just so wrong on so many levels.

Buffy shook her head to clear the horrible thoughts, then said, "I'm gonna go check the library for Willow and Oz, and also to see if Giles knows about some kind of weird prophecy happening. Why don't you two check the Bronze for your hunnies?"

"If they aren't there, then we'll swing by their houses; maybe something's wrong with their phones," Oz theorized. He was worried about his girlfriend; she'd been acting strange for a while now, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Oh, if you run into Faith, let her know what's up and to keep an eye out for the Scoobies, 'k?" Buffy called out before they got out the door. They just nodded and kept going.

**Meanwhile…**

**Willow's Bedroom**

Leaning back on the bed in exhaustion, Xander declared, "Whew! That was more than a fluke…way more!" referring to 'The Kiss' before Homecoming. "I think I need some energy in a delicious chocolate form," he added, reaching over Willow's naked body for one of the candy bars on the end table.

She playfully snitched a bite of the candy before he pulled it away from her. "I know! But you know what? As much as I don't like the way this happened, I have to admit that I always wanted you to be my first. I mean, Oz is great and I care a lot about him – maybe even love him a little – but you're _Xander_…the first guy I ever loved. It just feels right that this happened. And who knows, maybe now it's out of our system, and we can get back to being just best buds," Willow babbled her explanation. She knew she was only justifying their actions, but she couldn't be upset about being with Xander.

"Just the same, I don't think we should tell anyone, 'k?" Xander warned. "I doubt they'd agree with your Willow-logic about this being a good thing."

Willow sighed in resignation. "Yeah, you're right. It just feels weird not sharing something this big with Buffy, though. If ever there was a topic for girl talk, this would be it."

His eyes narrowed in anger at the mention of the blonde Slayer's name. "She'd probably get on her moral high horse about this. Like she's really one to talk," he sneered. "At least we both lost our virginity to humans, not vampires. And neither of _us_ is going to go on a killing spree."

"Let's not talk about Buffy right now. I want to enjoy thinking about this a bit longer," she pleaded. Part of her understood where Xander was coming from, but she still wished things were better between Buffy and the group.

Xander pulled Willow in for another kiss, already feeling geared up for another round of sex and forgetting that this was supposed to be over. "Good point. Now is just about you and me."

**Library**

Buffy pushed the library doors and called out, "Hey Giles! Something Hellmouthy is going on around here! Giles?"

He poked his head out of the office and began stuttering, "Hello, Bu- Miss Summers. Is there something I can do to assist you?"

Raising an eyebrow at his strange behavior, Buffy demanded suspiciously, "Giles…what's wrong with you? You're all stuttery. You're only stuttery when you're upset or nervous about a woman." He simply blushed at her statement, unwilling to admit it was her presence that made him nervous. She groaned as she figured it out, "Not you too! What's with all the grown-ups re-living their glory years?"

"Is it all grown-ups, Miss Summers?" Giles inquired softly, gaining a little more confidence as they spoke more.

She held up a hand in reply to stop the formalness. "_Please_ call me Buffy; you're freaking me out with the 'Miss Summers' stuff. Alright, which adults have been affected by this? Hmm…" Buffy trailed off, trying to remember exactly who she saw.

Before she could say anything else, Platt walked in. "Hello, Giles, Buffy. I take it you already know something is happening here?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded. Then she realized he sounded like he usually did. "Hey, why aren't you going all Dawson's Creek on us? Have you seen any other adults acting normal?"

Platt just shook his head. "Sorry, not that I've noticed. Oh no, does that mean Giles isn't himself right now?"

"Nope, he's like a male British version of Willow when I first moved here," she confirmed with a glance at her mentally de-aged Watcher.

"I _am_ right here, you know," Giles declared with what appeared to be a pout on his face. But he wouldn't be pouting – even as a youth – would he?

Fighting the urge to laugh at the petulant look on the Watcher's face, Platt tried to think of how to fix the problem. "Well, the logical way to handle this is to retrace the steps of one of the affected people. Giles? Can you walk us through what you did today and where you went?" he requested of the other man.

Buffy saw that he was still upset, so she added her own plea, "Please, Giles? It could help us fix this."

Just like his older personality, this Giles caved at her request. "Anything for you, Buffy. Very well, I got up this morning, got ready for work, ate a chocolate couple bars for breakfast, came to the school, exchanged words with that git, Snyder, then came straight here to the library."

"And the rest of your day?" Platt asked, ignoring the strange behavior and words from the normally proper man.

"I shelved some books, then started researching that demon Buffy ran into last night," Giles recited his actions.

Something niggled at the back of Buffy's mind. Trying to figure it out, she asked, "What about lunch?"

"I just had some tea and a couple more of those bars. By the way, I'm almost out; do you have any more of them?" he inquired, pulling another one out of his pocket.

Buffy snatched it from his hand, scolding him, "First of all, that's not healthy eating; I thought you knew better than that. Second," she looked at Platt, "do you think it could be the chocolate? Have _you_ had any?"

Platt shook his head again, "No, I'm allergic."

"Ouch, sucks to be you," Buffy remarked, wincing at the idea of not being able to eat chocolate.

"Maybe, but in this case, it could be a good thing," he replied with a nonchalant shrug. It had been a long time since it bothered him not to be able to eat the stuff.

"Giles, do you know of any spells or stuff like that which could do this to people?" Buffy asked her Watcher, despite her fear that he wouldn't be able be of much help at the moment.

He thought for a moment, then moved over to his private stash of books. Pulling a few of them off of the shelves, Giles said, "If you are correct about it being in the chocolate, it would need to be an edible potion. We can start with these books, and see if there's an antidote."

Platt watched as the pair seemed to get lost in their work. He thought of something else he could do to help and told them, "While you two get started on that, I'll see if I can find out where the chocolate is coming from. Be back in a little bit."

Buffy looked up from her book for a second and distractedly said to him, "Thanks, Stephen. Be careful."

"Is there something going on between you and _Stephen_?" Giles asked, snidely emphasizing his name. He was jealous of the closeness between his Slayer and the other man.

Still distracted, Buffy didn't quite catch the jealousy – at least not consciously. "Uh, no. Why would you think that?" she asked back without looking up.

Giles tried to calm himself down but he was too upset. That was the only explanation for the words that poured out his mouth, "Because you called him by his first name, and there was all that _touching_ between you."

That last bit caused Buffy to look up. She almost giggled, but saw the real anguish in her Watcher's eyes. _Did he think he was being replaced or something?_ "Gee, Giles, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous. I only call him Stephen when we don't have to worry about the wrong people hearing. Can't really call him Platt like I call you Giles; it just doesn't sound as nice."

"You don't like my first name?" he asked with another not-a-pout-'cause-he-was-too-manly-for-that-kind-of-expression.

She set a piece of paper into the book to mark her place, then set it aside. "Well, when we first met, I wasn't exactly thrilled to be dragged back into slaying. Plus, you were so stuffy, I think your head would have exploded if I called you Rupert. You weren't exactly happy I didn't call you _Mr._ Giles. Then by the time we were comfortable with each other, calling you Giles was already a habit," she explained with a warm smile, trying to make him feel better.

Giles looked down shyly, then requested, "Would you ever consider calling me Rupert?"

"If that's what you'd prefer," she said with another smile before going back to her book. A few seconds later, Buffy cried out, "Ooo, hey! Look at this one; could this be it?"

He glanced at the spell and shook his head. "No, it has black hellbore in it – poisonous to humans. The more a person would consume, the greater the risk of death. However, it proves you're on the right track with that book."

"So Rupert," she grinned at him, "I didn't ask you how old you think you are right now."

Cursing himself for blushing, Rupert answered, "Er, 18. I mean, obviously I know who you are and that you are my Slayer, but a big part of my mind believes I'm back in the academy, studying to become a Watcher. I'm just happy that I was given a chance to serve an active Slayer."

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, remembering that Giles- Rupert had told her his Ripper days were in his 20's. That is, if she remembered correctly. "Okay, so you're obviously still in your pre-Ripper days. That's good; I'm not sure how much help _he'd_ be."

"Pardon me, _Ripper_?" he asked with an arch of his eyebrow. Apparently he hadn't gotten to his Ripper personality after all.

"You went through a serious rebellious phase for a while. I gotta say, when you rebelled, you _really_ rebelled." Buffy remembered the pictures he showed her after Ethan left town. As a way of putting that part of his past to rest, they talked about the whole thing. "I did like your fashion choices, though – much more than your friends or hobbies. Well, the friend that I met more than once; there were some good ones from that time from what you told me," she corrected herself after thinking about it more.

His memory of that time was still fuzzy so Rupert asked, "My friends? Do I want to know the hobbies you're referring to?"

She shook her head. "Probably not. The friend I met – and hate, by the way – was Ethan Rayne. You guys used to do some serious magick mojo a while back. When another one of your friends died because of it, you turned away from that life and Ethan kept on going."

Rupert grimaced as the memories flooded back. "I remember now. It's odd… I can recall my whole life, but my mind and body insist that I'm only 18. It's rather distracting to have such conflicting thoughts."

"Well, hopefully we can get this figured out and you can go back to being my Watcher." Buffy saw the flicker of hurt in his eyes and felt like smacking herself for being so insensitive. "It's not that I don't like you. Heck, it could be kind of cool to have a teen Giles around…sorry, teen Rupert," she corrected herself with a smile. "I'm just worried that having those different sets of thoughts and feelings will cause trouble for you. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

"I understand," he replied quietly, going back to his books.

Buffy put her hand on the page he was pretending to read in order to get him to look at her. When he did, she told him, "I'm not sure you do. Things have been getting better between us since I came back, but I haven't told you how much you mean to me. This might not be the best time to tell you, but with you being my age, it's kinda easier for me. When I returned, you were the only one who welcomed me without any reservation or anger – and you were the one who had the most reason to."

Again, those teen hormones loosened his tongue before he could control himself. "I couldn't be angry when I was so happy to have you home again," Rupert declared sincerely.

Her smile could have lit up Times Square. "And I can't tell you how much that helped me deal with everyone else's anger. Just knowing that somebody had completely forgiven me for everything gave me a sense of peace that… Anyway, I just want you to know that you are my best friend, despite our age difference – or previous age difference – and I care a lot about you. Not just Watcher-you, but friend-you, too," she told him earnestly.

Her heartfelt confession caused him to stutter again, "Oh…well, I care deeply for you as well. I think you ceased being _merely_ my Slayer when Catherine put that vengeance spell on you. I couldn't put my finger on how to define what I felt for you until that night at the factory when you saved me. In that moment, you became my best friend as well. We were no longer mentor/student, but equals in this fight."

"Let's work to keep it that way when this mess is cleaned up, 'k?" Buffy asked.

Rupert smiled back at her shyly. "I'd like that as well."

"Good. Now let's get back to figuring this out."

**The Bronze**

**A short time later…**

Cordy was talking to Buffy on the phone near the bathrooms, "Buffy, we didn't find Willow or Xander, but we did come across your mom. She's acting- well, remember how freaked we were about Snyder?"

The tone in Cordy's voice made Buffy very nervous – not to mention her saying Snyder's name anywhere near her mother's. "Uh yeah, why? What is my mother doing?" she asked warily.

"Let's just say that if she ever tries to ground you for bad behavior once this is all done, you have plenty of ammunition to throw back in her face," Cordy stated, trying to spare her friend the details of her mom's slightly sluttish behavior.

Buffy shuddered, despite not knowing the whole story. "I'm not even sure I want to know anymore. I hate to ask, but can one of you stay with her to keep her from getting hurt?"

"Sure. We ran into Faith too, and she's out looking for the others. Oz and I decided to stay here with your mom." Cordy lowered her voice as much as she could to tell Buffy, "I think she has a slight crush on him."

The news caused the blonde Slayer to gag. "Eww! Bad mental images there!" Buffy whined.

Cordy gave her credit for not _actually_ throwing up; if it was her mom, Cordy wasn't sure she'd be able to control herself. "And you don't even have to see her trying to flirt with him. Poor guy looks like he wants to chew his leg off to escape," she admitted with a teasing note in her voice.

Buffy almost laughed at the thought – until she remembered it was her mom making Oz act that way. "I'm surprised you didn't let him go with Faith – or instead of her."

"We were going to, but it was obvious that wherever he went, your mom would go too. And leaving Faith with your mom? When she's acting this crazy already? _Nooo_, didn't seem like a good idea," Cordy declared. She didn't think anybody was really in the mood to bail those two out of jail.

"Thanks. See if you can talk her into going home." Buffy saw her Watcher waving a book at her just then and told Cordy, "Giles and I think we have some good leads on what's happening. Oh, before I forget, don't let her have any more chocolate bars! We think they might be responsible for the weirdness."

"Got it. Just say no to candy. We shoulda known anything that came from Snyder would be bad," Cordy snarked.

Buffy agreed, "Yeah, but since he's caught up in it too, I doubt that he's responsible for it."

"Good point," she conceded before saying goodbye and moving to save Oz from Ms. Summers.

**Willow's house**

**Sometime later than we last saw them…**

When they were finally worn out from having sex – and running out of candy bars to fuel themselves – Willow and Xander got dressed and moved to the living room to study like they told the others they were doing. Moments later, the doorbell rang. After opening the door, Willow was surprised to see the other Slayer standing in her doorway. "Faith! What are you doing here?"

Faith walked in without an invite; she hoped Red knew better than to offer her one. "B, Queenie and Wolfboy have been worried about you two. They tried calling you guys for the past few hours," she said, her eyes narrowing as she looked more closely at the pair.

Willow bit her lip nervously. They didn't expect anyone to look for them that night so they turned off the ringer on the phone. "Oh…umm, we just must not have heard the phone while we were studying."

"Studying," Faith nodded slowly. Then she fixed them both with a pointed stare and said, "Uh-huh. Let's try that again _without_ the lying."

"We were!" Xander defended themselves. Okay, so they had only been studying for the past fifteen minutes or so, but what right did Faith have to come in and make accusations – even if they were true.

Faith just scoffed at his heated denial, "And what was the class…Sex 101?"

"We weren't-" Willow tried to bluff.

But the dark-haired Slayer just cut her off, "Save it for somebody who might believe you, like B. You're talking to somebody who knows what 'just fucked' looks like. I have no clue what the hell you two are thinking, but you'd better make sure you wash away the smell real good before your boyfriend with the super-sniffer figures out your secret." She snorted in disgust at the two of them. "Gotta say, didn't see this one coming; thought you Scoobies were too much of goody-goodies to do this kind of thing."

Feeling his anger rising again, Xander stood up and yelled at her, forgetting they were supposed to still be denying this, "Who are you to judge us?"

She just shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, no skin off my nose. Just didn't think you'd do that to people you cared about." Faith started to make her way to the door to get away from them, but threw over her shoulder, "In case you're interested, B and G-man are trying to figure out why all the adults in town are acting…well, like you two. They're at the library, and your squeezes are at the Bronze, keeping an eye on B's mom so she doesn't get into trouble. Once you've cleaned yourselves up, you should let them know you're alive and okay."

Before she could open the door though, Willow called out, "Wait! You're not going to tell them, are you?"

Faith sighed heavily, then answered, "I ain't a snitch, but you'd better get your act together 'cause crap like this always has a way of coming out."

Once the door closed, Willow turned to her partner in sexual crime. "Do you think she'll actually stay quiet?"

"Even if she does say something, who'd believe her? Everything with her is sexual; we can convince them that she's just imagining things," Xander said with more confidence than he felt.

Because she wanted to believe him so badly, Willow allowed herself to be duped by his words. "Okay, if you're sure. Should we go to the library or the Bronze?"

"The Bronze. I'd rather not listen to Buffy or Giles lecture us about not answering the phone," he answered. Getting a lecture on sexual behavior from Faith was bad enough; he really didn't feel like listening to Miss Perfect Slayer and her Watcher groupie come down on them for not being good Scoobies, too.

**At the same time…**

**Library**

When he got back to the library, Platt held out a piece of paper he had 'liberated' from Snyder's office. "Okay, found out where the candy bars are coming from. There's a warehouse in town that's acting as a distribution center."

The dynamic duo of Watcher/Slayer-ness thought they had found out which spell it was. The bad news was it also had an aphrodisiac quality to it which lowered inhibitions. The worse news was there was no antidote for it; they just had to wait for the effects to wear off. If it was the right spell, it should only take hours from the last consumption of the chocolate. In Giles' case, it would only be another couple hours…they hoped.

"Well, I would guess that's our best place to get some answers then." Buffy stood up to get the weapons they'd need, but asked Platt first, "Stephen, would you mind staying here to keep researching – just in case we're wrong about the chocolate?"

He just grabbed a book and started reading. It was actually rather interesting to learn about this stuff. He had been warned before he was ever allowed to pick up a book that he was not to read anything aloud – not even moving his lips. The story they told about the demon Moloch drove that point home quite clearly to him. "No problem. Not sure how much use I'd be to you in a fight anyway."

"We'll call you when we find anything out. If Faith finds out what happened to Xander and Willow-" Buffy began to ask.

"I'll be sure to let you know," Platt answered, cutting her off.

"Let's get some weapons and head out then, Rupert," Buffy said to her Watcher.

Rupert practically leapt from his chair to follow her. "Right behind you, Buffy."

Platt caught the name change and just raised an eyebrow at Giles' actions, figuring that he'd keep a closer eye on the man when he returned to normal. There was something going on between him and Buffy, and the counselor wanted to be sure she wouldn't get hurt by her older-than-her Watcher.

**Sewers**

**An hour later…**

After they had dispatched Lurconis and taken care of the vampires in the tunnel, Buffy and Giles began to climb out of the sewers. "Is there any point to us going back to beat the crap out of Ethan?" Buffy asked as they got back into the relatively fresh night air. She _hated_ going into the sewers!

More himself again, Giles responded blandly, "He's probably not at the warehouse anymore, if that's what you're asking. My binding wouldn't have held him for long since he's been practicing magick more than me."

Buffy took a couple cloth handkerchiefs out of their weapons' bag, handed one to Giles and used the other to clean her silver daggers. "Is it just because of what happened with Eyghon the reason why you don't do magick anymore?"

Giles took the cloth and began cleaning his own weapon before answering her, "Partially. That was my reasoning before I came here at least," he corrected himself.

"There's something more then?" she inquired, sliding her daggers back into their hiding place.

"I'm just concerned about how the energy from the Hellmouth would affect my magick and even myself. Not to mention, the more you use magick, the more you become addicted to it." He put the sword back into its sheath and away in the bag, then continued, "Unless you're part of a responsible coven, trying to cast spells on your own too much is just inviting danger."

Buffy sighed as she tried to understand the magick talk. "Then we should warn Willow, huh," she commented off-handedly.

Giles' eyes widened in shock at her statement, though. "She's performing magick still? I thought she stopped after the re-ensouling spell."

"Oops," Buffy quipped with a shrug of her shoulders. "I thought you knew about it. She had some books from the library, so I just assumed that you were helping her."

His eyes narrowed in annoyance; he had specifically told Willow to ask for his consent before reading any of his books. "No. I'll have a talk with her about taking my books without permission."

"I didn't mean to get her into trouble," Buffy said, worried that he was really angry with her best friend.

Giles just smiled to let her know he wasn't that upset about it…yet. "It's better I know. Maybe I can keep her from making the same mistakes I did," he said with a grimace. Seeing Ethan brought back a lot of painful memories.

Buffy smiled as she figured out he was grown-Giles again. "Hey! I just realized you sound more like my Giles now!"

"'_Your Giles'_?" he repeated with a raised eyebrow. That was a loaded statement.

She just started blushing, then hit his arm. "You know what I mean. You're not going to get all stuffy on me again, are you? I kind of like the openness of Rupert."

Giles began to stutter yet again, "Uh, yes…well, I guess we could try to interact on more of an equal footing. You've matured so much these past couple years that we're more like partners now than teacher/student – especially in these last few months."

"Is that your stuffy way of saying we're friends?" Buffy teased.

He knocked his shoulder into hers as he teased back, "You're a cheeky brat."

Buffy laughed, glad that she wasn't losing Rupert now that the chocolate had worn off. "But you love me anyway."

**The following Monday…**

Making sure they were alone, Platt called out to Giles when he entered the library, slipping back into a more formal mode, "Mr. Giles, I wanted to speak to you."

Giles was startled by the brisk tone in Platt's voice, but answered calmly, "Certainly. Please call me Rupert. After all, we're somewhat of friends."

"I hope you still think that after you hear what I have to say," Platt said, taking a seat across from Giles at the table.

"Tea?" Giles offered, not sure he wanted to hear whatever was bothering the man.

Platt just shook his head before diving into his concern right away, "I couldn't help but notice your younger self appeared to have feelings for Buffy. Or at least he wasn't as good about hiding them as you are. Is there something I should be worried about?"

Giles felt himself getting angry at the insinuation. "Are you asking if I have taken advantage of Buffy?" Platt just shrugged, letting the Watcher reach his own conclusions. "The answer is no. We are merely friends, and I'd appreciate you keeping your speculations to yourself."

"Buffy doesn't know then?" Platt asked, not letting Giles off the hook about his feelings just yet.

"And she never will," Giles declared hotly. "With Faith here and willing to assume the mantle of Slayer, Buffy has a chance at a semi-normal life. She'll go to college, fall in love with a nice young man, get married and have as many children as she wants – if I have anything to say about it."

"Alright," Platt replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "I think you're fooling yourself that she'll be able to do that, but I'm glad that you truly care about her and aren't just using her to feel younger."

Giles snorted, remembering his Ripper days clearly, "Believe me, after last week, I have no desire to revisit my younger days."

A/N: Just wanted to give everyone a head's up that the next several months are going to be very hectic for me, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update any of my stories. I'm not abandoning anything, and if I get the chance to post, I will.

A/N2: Next...Gwendolyn Post's visit and Faith's new Watcher.


	7. Chapter 7: Watching the Watcher

**Chapter 7: Watching the Watcher**

Chapter Summary: Without the divisive surprise of Angel's return to distract them, Buffy and Giles are better equipped when Gwendolyn Post shows up.

Timeline: Season 3, _'Revelations'_.

A/N: Only Slayers and Watchers in this chapter since we already dealt with the Angel issue. The only purpose of having the others in this would be for bashing, and it isn't really necessary for _every_ chapter. *grin*

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Thanks to my betas: AshDawnSoulmates, but she had to rush through it 'cause I wanted to post right away. Any errors that remain are mine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Dialogue paraphrased from .

**

* * *

**

Library

Faith leaned over to whisper to her sister-Slayer as she glared at the new Watcher – some uptight bitch that started criticizing them before she even introduced herself, "Sure I can't just share Big G with you, B? If I have to put up with 'Gwendolyn Post, Mrs.' for more than five minutes, I might 'accidentally' forget to pull my punches during training."

"Can't say I blame you. She gives me the wiggins. You don't think she some kind of weird demon that doesn't ping our spidey senses, do you?" Buffy whispered back.

Things didn't get any better when _Mrs. Post_ – what poor, unfortunate soul had to marry that harpy? – assumed she could intimidate them all with the threat of a Council review. It was a little funny when she made Giles squirm with the idea that he was too American, but then she started in on his library, and _really_ upsetting him.

"Mr. Giles, where do you keep the rest of your books?" the female Watcher inquired after scanning the room with a dismissive expression.

Caught off-guard by the question, Giles stuttered, "I-I'm sorry. The rest?" He cursed his stutter, and how she made him feel like a schoolboy being called to the headmaster's office.

Mrs. Post sneered in that fashion that was so subtle you had to be an expert in sneering to know she did it, "Yes, the _actual_ library." When Giles continued to look confused, she smirked. "Oh. I see."

Now he was defensive, and it showed in his response, "I can assure you, Mrs. Post, this is the finest occult reference collection..."

She interrupted him, asking for different volumes, which he either didn't have or was waiting for. Finally he was able to produce one, but she just looked at it as if it was a Dracula comic book about slaying. "Of course you do."

Before Buffy could consider whether it was a good idea to confront an unknown Watcher, she was up on her feet, practically snarling at the intruder. "You know what, lady? And I use that term loosely… If Giles doesn't have the books he needs, it's the _Council's_ fault for not sending them to him! So if they haven't sent them, he must not need them – unless you want to tell us that the Council has failed the only active Watcher and two Slayers who are protecting the Hellmouth," she added challengingly.

Instead of answering Buffy's challenge, Mrs. Post simply sighed disappointedly, "I guess it would have been too much to hope that you could have taught your Slayer to act in a respectful manner to her superiors."

It took all of Faith's strength to hold Buffy back at that comment. The brunette Slayer shook her head and warned Buffy, "Let G handle this bitch. If he doesn't, I'll help you take her down…'k?" The blonde Slayer calmed down at the mental image of synchronized slaying of Mrs. Post.

Meanwhile, the woman whose life was hanging by a thread kept talking like she didn't realize her life was in jeopardy, "A demon named Lagos is coming here to the Hellmouth. Mr. Giles, an illustration of Lagos, if you please." They could almost hear the snapping of her fingers as if she were addressing a slave.

Still a bit flustered by his unnecessary shame of not having the 'right' books on hand to help his Slayer and Faith, Giles began looking at the titles on the table, unsure of where to search first. "Oh, uh...Yes. Uh..."

"Perhaps later," Mrs. Post sneered in that polite manner again. "Lagos seeks the Glove of Myhnegon. No record of this glove's full power exists, but we do know it is highly dangerous and must not fall into the hands of a demon. Lagos must be stopped."

"Yeah, real helpful there," Buffy snarked, totally fed up with this woman's treatment of Giles. Why she was more upset about that then her comments about the Slayers, she wasn't ready to contemplate. "Since you obviously have had more than three seconds to research this, why don't _you_ have a book with all the necessary info we need to beat him? I mean, it would be just foolish to assume that we would have the same info you have. So c'mon, whip out your book and give us all the gory details."

Mrs. Post glared back at the blonde Slayer. "You really _are_ an insolent child."

"Hey, I respect those who have earned the right to be respected. All you've done since showing up is belittle us, and try to make us feel inferior. When you've helped stop an apocalypse or two, _maybe _then I'll show you some respect. But you _certainly_ aren't going to get any from me if you can't show us any," Buffy replied snappily, getting ready to pounce physically.

Something Giles must have recognized because he quickly intervened, "I think perhaps we should let Mrs. Post get back to her hotel room and recover from her long journey. We can meet again tomorrow after we've all calmed down a bit. Here…about four o'clock."

"Five by five with me, G. Later!" Faith called out, tired of the official-ness of the night now. She'd rather be out killing things or dancing up a storm with B and some hot guys.

Once the library doors closed behind Mrs. Post, who left right after Faith did, Buffy groused to her Watcher, "I don't like her, Giles."

"I never would have guessed," he replied sardonically.

She tapped him lightly on the arm for teasing her. "Oh please…like you did. I could see that vein in your forehead that usually only makes an appearance around Snyder," she teased back.

"Well, she is rather unpleasant," Giles conceded.

"Can we check her story? About her being a Watcher, I mean," she clarified. "Something just doesn't feel right."

The suspicion in her voice surprised him; he thought it was merely a personality clash. "Is it because she's a woman?" he asked, knowing that Buffy might not be used to the idea of female Watchers since he and Merrick were men.

Buffy shook her head, "No. I remember that Faith's Watcher was a woman, so I know that it's possible. I can't explain it exactly, but something about her… I just don't think we can trust her," she finally admitted, biting her lower lip while her brow wrinkled in confusion; rather adorably in her Watcher's silent opinion.

To stop his thoughts from going any further down that path, Giles went into research mode. "Okay…let's look at this logically. Have you ever felt this way around anyone else?"

After a few seconds of thinking about it, she had a light bulb moment. "Now that you mention it, yeah. She reminds me of Ethan; you know, that creepy, but human vibe."

Comparing this woman to Ethan? "That isn't good," he murmured. "I'll call the Council and make some inquiries. For now, I think we should keep an eye on her. Better that she's with us rather than off on her own, doing who knows what."

Buffy remembered that old adage 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.' It was by some old general guy…Chinese from a long time ago, but the name eluded her. It was something like Shih Tzu, but not exactly 'cause that was a dog. Good strategy…if you couldn't simply just kill them. "Alright. I'll let Faith know since she wants to play Faith's Watcher. She'll have better access. Plus, I don't think I'll be spending too much time with the woman – unless we'd like her to lose some teeth."

"Try to control yourself…just in case she's legitimate," Giles pleaded, although he enjoyed the mental image of his Slayer giving the woman a sound thrashing.

"No promises if she continues to act like a bitch," she growled under her breath. _Nobody_ got to harass her Watcher except for her and her friends – and only in teasing.

Giles looked at his Slayer in surprise. "Language, Buffy!"

"Sorry, just channeling Faith there…G," she tacked on impishly, only proving she wasn't truly repentant.

He just shook his head mournfully, hiding his smile. Those two were a bad influence on each other. "Go…and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

**

* * *

**

Outside the school

Once she was sure the bitch wasn't still around, Buffy called out to the darkness, "Faith? You still here?"

Stepping out of the shadows, Faith replied breezily, "Yeah. Figured you'd want to go blow off some steam after we ditched G and Miss Priss."

"Definitely feeling the need to do some violence right now. Agh! That woman!" the blonde snarled.

Faith chuckled, secretly thrilled to see the wilder side of her sister-Slayer. "I hear ya. At least she isn't gonna be _your_ Watcher."

As they started for one of the cemeteries left on their list for the evening, Buffy remembered to inform the brunette, "Oh yeah, speaking of that…Giles is gonna check with the Council to make sure she's legit."

"You really think somebody would actually try to fake being a Watcher? Why?" Faith shuddered at pretending to be stuffy and no fun.

Buffy shrugged; that wasn't something she had figured out yet. "Who knows? Maybe to get their own personal Slayer to act as a bodyguard or assassin or something?"

"Gee, don't I feel special?" the younger Slayer snarked.

"I didn't mean it that way, but you have to admit that having a Slayer who follows orders would be pretty handy. She can't go after me 'cause of Giles, so…" Buffy trailed off.

Faith picked up the sentence and finished it, more than a little bitter, "I win the booby prize because I'm the screw-up who lost a Watcher."

Putting her hand on Faith's arm to stop her, Buffy quickly reminded her in on a painful memory of her own; maybe one they should have talked about earlier, "Hey, if she had found me before I came to Sunnydale, I'd be in the same spot as you."

"B?" Faith's expression indicated she didn't know what Buffy was talking about.

That came as a surprise to Buffy, especially since Faith seemed to know a lot about her when she showed up in Sunnydale. "Didn't you know? My first Watcher was killed in front of me by Lothos. Then he taunted me that I wasn't even worthy to kill yet."

Faith let out a low whistle. That sounded eerily similar to her and Kakistos – except he had no problem with wanting to kill her. "Diane never told me about that. She just said you took out two master vamps named Lothos and the Master. I guess I assumed G was your Watcher since you were Called."

"Nope." They continued walking in silence for a few minutes before Buffy spoke up again, "By the way, the personal Slayer thing might not be the reason either. Maybe she works for a big bad and needs to keep tabs on us. Unless they want to use a kid for that, the best ways in are Watcher and Slayer. And even the Slayer would still have to be a kid."

"And we've already got two Slayers and only one Watcher…" Faith nodded as she put the pieces together. "Gotcha."

"Well, it's a bit easier to fake being a Watcher than it is a Slayer," Buffy said with a grin.

Faith just smirked back. "So Miss 'Stick up my ass' might be a fake to get close to the group, or to tear me away from it. What's the plan for dealing with her if she is?"

"Until we know what her agenda is, would you mind keeping tabs on her? You know, since she wants more time with you?" Buffy reminded the other Slayer.

"Alright, but you and G owe me big-time if she turns out to be evil," Faith said with a hint of warning that she _would_ collect. Then some vamps attacked them, and they got to relieve some of their tension.

**

* * *

**

Faith's hotel room

**The next afternoon…**

When she opened the door and saw her new 'Watcher' standing there, Faith remarked warily, "I thought we were meeting at the library?"

Mrs. Post ignored the comment and walked into the room, commenting, "So... this is your home."

"Yeah. The decorator actually just left," Faith snarked, on edge from the impromptu visit.

Deciding that now was as good a time as any to win over the outcast Slayer, Mrs. Post asked, "Faith, do you know who the Spartans were?"

"Wild stab: a bunch of guys from Spart?" Faith listened as the woman tried to bond with her by comparing her to warriors from ancient times. She almost rolled her eyes at the obvious attempt at flattery. It was a decent tactic though; if she were as needy for praise about her slaying as when she first got to Sunnydale, it might have worked. Fortunately, those days were behind her…for the most part.

"As to why I am here, I wanted to talk to you privately first. Besides, I stopped at the school earlier, and they were having a meeting without us," the older woman remarked offhandedly, as if she weren't trying to drive a wedge between Faith and the others.

Faith feigned ignorance and asked suspiciously, "What meeting?"

The Watcher waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I don't know. Something secret that he only wanted to discuss with Buffy and her friends."

Ah, so separating her from the group was Miss Priss' game plan after all. Good thing that Faith already knew what the meeting was about. While she and B were out looking for something to pummel the night before, they ran into Lagos trying to find the glove thing. He might have been able to handle one Slayer, but he was no match for two of them working together. While B was fruitlessly kicking and hitting the guy, Faith was able to snatch his battle axe and make him several inches shorter.

"Oh, right. I guess that doesn't include me," Faith replied with a slightly dejected expression, playing her part to the hilt.

"And I don't understand him involving civilians in this…" Mrs. Post cut herself off. That was something she truly was perplexed by, but it wasn't important to her mission. "No matter. Would you like to do some training before we head over?"

Faith's eyes lit up. Even if the woman turned out to be evil, Faith loved any kind of physical activity. "Training? As in kicking and punching and stabbing?"

The smile on Mrs. Post's was almost predatory as she answered, "Yes, that's the idea."

"I'm your girl."

**

* * *

**

Library

"Faith," Buffy greeted her sister-Slayer with a significant look at Gwendolyn Post. Immediately, Faith grabbed the woman's arms and held her tight.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mrs. Post cried in outrage. Something must have gone wrong in her plans somewhere.

"By order of the Watchers Council, you are to be detained until you can be escorted back to England for reprimand," Giles declared formally, glaring at the woman who tried to interfere with his Slayer and Faith.

Quick to put the pieces together, Faith remarked, twisting the woman's arm just a little harder…just enough to make her cry out, "Let me guess…Gwendolyn Post – not a Watcher." She relaxed her grip when Giles gave her that look of his. Damn, B was right about that look making you feel like you killed a whole litter of puppies!

"Yes, she was," he corrected, then added, "She was, uh, kicked out by the council a couple of years ago for misuses of dark power. They swear there was a memo."

**

* * *

**

Later…

After the extraction team too Gwendolyn Post away, Giles gave the Slayers the other bit of information passed onto him by the Council, "To avoid this situation from happening again, they are sending a Watcher for Faith."

"Yo! I don't need no Watcher, G," Faith replied defensively. "I got you for that kind of stuff."

Giles knew this was a sore subject for the younger Slayer, so he carefully worded his response, "No Slayer or Potential should have to share a Watcher; it isn't fair to her. You deserve to have somebody that you don't have to worry is solely for you. With me, you would always wonder if I favored Buffy." He smiled to take the sting out of his words. "And to be fair, I would…because she is _my_ Slayer."

Feeling an irrational streak of jealously, Faith kept quiet. As great as things were with Diane, she wasn't sure she could claim the same closeness as B and G had.

Buffy must have seen the emotion in her eyes because she requested, "Is there any way we can be sure Faith gets a good Watcher?"

"I asked my grandmother – the one who was a Watcher – to help choose." He coughed self-consciously, and continued, "After she finished tearing into me for not asking sooner, she promised to get Faith the very best."

* * *

A/N: I'm using the movie version of what happened to Merrick since I can't remember which episode on the show explained how he died. And they found the glove off-screen and destroyed it after dealing with Post, 'k?

A/N2: Next...Up to _'The Wish'_. For you Willow and Xander fans who don't want them bashed, you may want to skip that chapter.


	8. Chapter 8: Lovers Accident

**Chapter 8: Lovers Accident**

Chapter Summary: Because they were actually lovers, Willow and Xander are finally caught in the act.

Timeline: Season 3, _'Lovers Walk'_.

A/N: I didn't go into detail about the Spike thing because if you've watched the episode, you know what happened already. Why waste time re-wording the script when it isn't necessary?

Warning: Not Willow or Xander-friendly. Please don't leave reviews complaining about how it's OOC for them. This is AU, people!

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Dialogue paraphrased from .

* * *

**Library**

As he watched the girls spar Giles informed them, "I thought I would let you know that the Council has finally decided who to send as Faith's Watchers. Just so you know it is a married couple. It wouldn't have taken so long, except my grandmother put up a fuss with their first choices."

"What was wrong with their first choices?" Buffy inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"One was so old that he should be limited to research only. The other is barely out of the Academy; this would be his first assignment," Giles answered with a scoffing tone. It was better than the angry one he was biting back. Sending either of those men would be tantamount to murdering either the Watcher or Faith…or both.

Grabbing a towel to wipe off the sweat she built up, Buffy plopped in one of the chair and seeing that Faith wasn't going to open _her_ mouth, asked, "So, what's the what with these people?"

Giles informed them of what he knew about the pair, then sent them out to patrol. They would meet the Watchers in a few days when they flew in.

It just so happened that the night Faith's Watchers were arriving in LA, Spike decided to return to Sunnydale.

* * *

**A couple days later…**

Buffy was finishing up another extra credit assignment in the library – by herself 'cause Willow was going out on a double date with Xander and their significant others. Giles normally would have been there, but he and Faith were at the airport. After sitting still for so long, Buffy wanted to make a quick sweep of a cemetery or two before heading home. That meant calling her mom to let her know the change in plans.

Sighing, Buffy thought about the difference between the way Giles was treating her and her mom was. While her Watcher was impressed with her newfound maturity, her mom was insisting on treating her like a ten year old. Worse, actually, 'cause when she was ten, she didn't have to deal with this kind of crap.

Because of her guilt over disappearing for the summer, Buffy put up with it…mostly without complaint. She had hoped that after a couple weeks – and some nice reports from her teachers – her mom would ease up. Unfortunately, they were into the third month now with no end in sight.

She couldn't even complain to Willow or Xander about it. And that was assuming they even stayed in the same room as her for more than a few minutes anymore. The one time she did manage to say something, Xander just threw it in her face that she deserved it and more. So much for his half-hearted apology back in September. Willow didn't say anything one way or the other.

When she spoke to Platt about it, he told her to pick her battles carefully, and eventually Joyce should relax. Either that, or Buffy could leave home after graduation and it wouldn't matter. Knowing that somebody was even marginally on her side helped most of the time. If her mom got an ankle bracelet to track her, all bets were off.

Putting down her pencil, Buffy moved to Giles' office so she could call the house.

All thoughts of frustration and schedules flew out the window when she heard Spike's voice in the background. Buffy let the phone drop as she raced out of the library, hoping to get to Revello Drive before he killed her mom, but not really expecting to…unless he wanted to torment her by making her watch.

* * *

An hour and various threats against her friends later, Spike walked off during a fight with his former minions, yelling back that Willow and Xander were at the factory like she suspected. If she wasn't so worried about getting to them in time, she would have gone after Spike to put him out of her misery once she finished staking the rest of the vampires.

She arrived at the factory just as Cordy and Oz pulled up in his van. That was a relief. Not only that they would have a vehicle to carry them if somebody was injured, but also that a tiny part of Buffy's mind had been wondering what Spike had done to them if he only grabbed Willow and Xander.

"What are you two doing here?" Buffy asked as the got out of the van.

"Oz used that smelling thing of his to find Willow, and it brought us here," Cordy replied with a slight look of disgust or uneasiness over learning about Oz's ability to uber-smell. "What about you?"

"Spike kidnapped Willow and Oz; waited until I was busy with six of his former minions – who wanted to go after him – then ran off to torture Drusilla into loving him again. What a nutcase!" Buffy declared, shaking her head in exasperation. It would have been so nice to track him down and kill him. Brushing the thought aside, she sighed, "At least he told me where to find them. I'm glad you're here 'cause that means he was telling the truth for once."

"And I'm glad you're here; now _you_ can break down the door instead of us," Cordy said with her usual pragmatism.

Oz smirked, but had to agree with her, "My shoulder's glad, too."

Buffy rolled her eyes, but did like they said. Pulling them back before they started to go through the door she just busted, she warned, "We should be careful when we get inside. Spike was drunk, but he had some kind of plan. It's possible he rigged up some traps or something."

Of course, anything the bleached menace might have done to hurt them took a distant second place to the scene which greeted the would-be rescuers. They got halfway down the stairs before they froze in place. Thankfully the darkness obscured the lower halves of Spike's victims, but they saw enough of the _upper_ halves to know what they were doing.

Oz and Cordy felt like they had been punched in the stomach. Buffy simply felt sick to hers. Even under the best of circumstances, this wasn't something she ever wanted to witness – much less with her present companions.

Catching a glimpse of the faces on the bed, she could have sworn that it looked like Xander saw them, but he kept…going anyway. Surely he wasn't that cruel…was he? Certainly not the Xander who had been Buffy's best friend for the past couple years!

As soon as Cordy screamed at them, the look disappeared and a remorseful one took its place. Which of the two looks was a lie?

Without waiting for a response to her scream, Cordy turned to run out. At the last second, Buffy heard the boards crack and attempted to pull the distraught brunette back. Unfortunately, the board the Slayer was on couldn't support both of them, and it broke too.

Oz grabbed for them, but Cordy's hand barely brushed his as they fell. He carefully peered over the edge, worried about what he might see. Again, the problem was light…or the lack thereof.

All he could make out was Cordy's legs and part of her torso; he couldn't see her face or any part of Buffy. Oz could smell the distinct odor of fresh blood, though…a lot of it. And two different kinds.

Worse yet, he could see a piece of rebar sticking out of Cordy's thigh.

"Try to stay put, Cordy! I'm going for an ambulance and rescue team!" Turning to glare at his girlfriend and her lover, Oz snapped, "Get dressed and stay there. We can't risk any more stairs breaking."

Wrapping the sheet around her, Willow cried out, "Oz! I'm-"

Oz cut her off with a growl, "This is _not_ the time!"

Once he found a phone and called it in, Oz raced back to keep Cordy calm and stationary, as per the operator's instructions. "Help's on the way, Cordy! I need you to talk to me! Do you know if Buffy's okay?"

In a weak voice, Cordy relayed the information she could think of through the pain, "She's not talking or moving, but I can feel her breathing. I think whatever's sticking out of my leg went through her first. I can't tell where, though. If she dies, I hope Giles or Faith beat the crap out of those two lying, cheating losers!" she spat with as much venom as she could muster.

"What else?" Oz asked, partly to keep her talking, but also because the angry side of his brain agreed with her and wanted to let her speak for them both – despite the fact that the 'losers' in question couldn't hear Cordy anyway. Her voice was too soft and they were too far away for that.

By the time the EMTs and fire department arrived, Cordy proved that she wasn't somebody to piss off. He doubted that the majority of her plans would ever happen; a few of them sounded physically impossible, but they were still amusing to listen to. And it kept Cordy awake.

The real question remained: how bad was Buffy injured?

* * *

A/N: Next…_'The Wish'_. Again, not for X/W fans. We'll also get to meet Faith's Watchers.


	9. Chapter 9: The Watchers

**Chapter 9: The Watchers**

Chapter Summary: Gonna divert a little and meet Faith's Watchers.

Timeline: Season 3, _'Lovers Walk'_; same night as the last chapter.

A/N: Probably gonna be changing Faith's backstory here – but since we weren't told much _on the show_, I'm not too worried.

Warning: Not Willow or Xander-friendly. Please don't leave reviews complaining about how it's OOC for them. This is AU, people!

Thanks to my betas: JacobPhoenix and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Dialogue paraphrased from .

* * *

**In a rental car**

As he drove Faith to the airport, Giles told her what he knew about her new Watchers. Since he had already told her this a couple days ago, her mind wandered. Sounded like he was going to be her Watcher and she was going to be her guardian. Faith had to admit a small thrill at the idea of having a mother-figure that cared about her.

It wouldn't be the first time, though.

Hell, for every year as far back as she could remember, Faith had a great mom…at least from January 1st until the last week in April. She wasn't sure what it was about that week, but the sober and loving mom would give in to the need and not emerge again until the following New Year's Day.

It was just after the need kicked in that D found Faith and started training her. Only a couple weeks later that Faith became the Slayer. She doubted that her mom even realized that she signed away custody of her only daughter.

Made Faith wonder if it would break her mom's cycle; if losing her daughter would keep her in that dark place she crawled out of every January. Also made her wonder if maybe she should call and say she was doing okay.

Giles sounded like he was saying something that required a comment by her, so she listened again and nodded as he warned her that she would be expected to live by certain rules her Watchers set.

Yeah, it was a kick to have people give a damn again, but it didn't mean she was going to make it easy for them, though. In fact, she felt it was her sacred duty as a teenager to rebel. Besides, how was she gonna get that stick out of B's ass if she suddenly became respectable herself?

The meet and greet in the airport went about as she expected, and they were headed back to Sunnydale. Thank goodness G realized that four people _plus_ luggage in that crap car of his was not a good fit and rented an SUV instead. The guys sat up front, the women sat in the middle and threw the luggage in the back…and were all nice and comfy.

"So…" Harold Ipsen began, "We'd like to meet your Slayer, Rupert. Tonight, if possible."

A little stung that already B was stealing her thunder from people who were supposed to be hers, Faith asked as nonchalantly as possible, "What's the rush?"

Her attempt was a huge failure. Understanding the hurt her 'daughter' was feeling, Lou Ipsen gave Faith a comforting smile and squeezed her hand gently, then explained, "We plan to spend the next week or two getting to know you – your hopes, your fears…your favorite foods; that sort of thing – which means that she won't see a lot of you. We'd like to meet her first in order to assuage her concerns about us. After that foul-up with Gwendolyn Post, I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate you simply disappearing for that long."

Faith couldn't say anything to that. Even D hadn't bothered to get to know her…beyond figuring out the best way to train her. She cared a lot about her late Watcher, but had no delusions about D's feelings. Well, she didn't until Kakistos captured them and D told her to run. That made her think D actually cared back. It would have been nice, except it was too damn late.

Thankfully, G spoke up instead, "I believe she said something about some extra homework this evening. Depending on how much she had, Buffy might still be in the library."

"Why not just call her cell phone?" Lou inquired.

"I don't believe she has one," Giles replied. "She's never mentioned one to me, anyway."

Harold narrowed his eyes at that. "You mean to tell me that you never got her one? Do _you_ have one so she can reach you at any time?"

As much as she enjoyed seeing G stammer like a scolded schoolboy, Faith tried to save him. "G? Are you kidding? He's like allergic to all things electric. I'm surprised he can even drive a car!" Okay, so maybe not so much with the saving as with simply teasing.

Lou made a tsk-ing sound at the bachelor. "Really, Rupert…one would think that you are a vampire or something, being stuck in the past like that. I thought you were a rebel. If nothing else, consider the cell phones as another tool for you and your Slayer to fight evil. Imagine this…what if you were attacked and she wasn't at home to receive your call? Or she was on patrol by herself and was too injured to make it to your house or the hospital?"

Despite being a proud technophobe, Giles couldn't dispute the veracity of those scenarios. He didn't have to imagine those scenes – or a dozen like them – because he dreamt about them almost every night…especially during the summer when he didn't know where Buffy was. "Very well, I'll take care of it tomorrow," he replied, his voice clipped to keep his emotions in check.

Faith's eyebrow quirked a bit at his easy caving, but then realized that when it came to B, he'd do probably anything to keep her safe.

"For now, why don't you tell me the number of the library, and I'll call to see if she's there?" Harold suggested. Giles rattled it off, but there was no answer. "What about her home number?" For that one, he handed the phone off to Faith…simply because it would be better if it was somebody Buffy's mother knew asking for her instead of a complete stranger.

"Uh, I think we have a problem," Faith started after listening to Joyce for a few minutes and hanging up. "Some vamp named Spike was by earlier, said he had Red and Xan 'cause he needed Red for a spell. That was an hour ago or so and B's mom hasn't heard anything since."

Harold happened to be looking at Giles right then and was astonished to see the agony on the man's face. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that he cared about his Slayer more than a 'good' Watcher was supposed to. Only question remaining was: in what way?

Then Giles' expression changed to one of determination as he started thinking about the situation. "I think we should check the factory and the mansion first. Those are places Spike has used as lairs before." Well, technically the mansion was Angelus' lair, so the factory was probably the best bet. With that figured out, he stepped down on the accelerator to speed as fast as he thought he could get away with without attracting the attention of law enforcement.

* * *

Ninety grueling minutes later, they saw fire trucks and ambulances outside the factory. It pretty much confirmed Giles' assumption.

"What happened?" he asked of a nearby EMT.

"Some teenagers were loitering in the factory and a couple got hurt when the staircase gave way. One was able to call for help, but two others are stuck below the hole until the fire department can get them out."

A sense of dread gripped Giles' stomach. Five teenagers…the same number as Buffy and her friends. And if two were hurt… "What about the two injured youths?" he managed to choke out emotionally.

"They left in earlier ambulances. The kid who called went with them to the hospital. It didn't sound like the two who were trapped were hurt, but it's standard procedure for us to be here until we can be sure," the EMT explained.

Before Giles could say anything, Faith said quietly so she wasn't overheard, "G, you go to the hospital and see who it was; I'll stick around and make sure nothing bad happens here. It feels like a vamp attack waiting to happen with all these blood donors standing around."

"Good idea," Lou agreed, "Take my phone and call if you find your Slayer. Harold is speed-dial number three, so just press the number down until it starts dialing."

"Or I could go with him," Harold offered. If there was bad news about his Slayer, the man would need somebody to talk to.

Apparently Lou realized that too since she nodded and grabbed an oversized school backpack from the back of the SUV. When she opened it, Faith could see a small arsenal of weapons. Damn! This chick was cool!

* * *

It didn't take much longer before the firefighters said the last two kids were coming out. Faith's own hopes plummeted when she saw Xan and Red being escorted to a nearby ambulance. Part of her was hoping that if it was B's group, she was staying with the other trapped teen to keep them calm. She didn't think that B would actually be trapped herself, but if there was somebody with her, she wouldn't escape herself and leave them behind – not when she knew help was already on the way.

Now there was only a one in three chance she wasn't hurt when the stairs broke. Question was: where was the vamp? Why would he leave any of them alive? That was assuming B didn't dust his ass.

"Those are two of B's friends," Faith told Lou. "The ones who were kidnapped earlier. I'm guessing that means B and their honeys went to the hospital."

"Very well. We'll wait until they are cleared by the EMTs, then take them home," Lou answered. "It's getting late and their parents must be worried about them."

"Not so sure about that," was Faith's muttered reply.

Another few minutes passed until the EMTs cleared the couple, handing them both bottles of water for slight dehydration. Once they were away from the 'civilians', Faith grabbed them and asked, "What happened? We know a fang named Spike grabbed you, but that's all."

"Who's she?" Xander demanded suspiciously, pointing to Lou.

"This is Lou Ipsen, one of my new Watchers. Lou, this is Xander and Willow," Faith introduced the three.

"Pleasure to meet you. My husband, Harold, has gone to the hospital with Rupert to see what he can learn there," Lou told the semi-hostile teens. Damn that Post for pretending to be a Watcher!

Willow's eyes narrowed. "Why does Faith get two Watchers when Buffy only has one?"

That certainly wasn't the response she was expecting. Didn't they already know that Faith had two? Carefully, she explained, "Buffy has a guardian to watch out for her best interests; Faith doesn't. My husband and I prefer to work as a team so that our girls aren't treated as disposable weapons. Our Potentials go on to have somewhat normal lives once they reach the age they can't be Called. The one Slayer we took care of had a life outside of slaying, much like Buffy does."

"Well, when Cordy, Oz and Buffy came to rescue us, a couple stairs broke and Cordy started to fall. Buffy grabbed her and went down, too," Willow quickly summarized, leaving out the part where she and Xander were caught in the middle of having sex.

Not that it really mattered in Faith's case; she could practically smell it on the pair. And if she could, chances were that B and Wolfboy could as well. Rather than listen to them lie about it, Faith figured she'd get the truth from the other Slayer. "Whatever," she said dismissively, surprising Lou with her seeming callousness. "We gotta get you two home before some vamps decide to snack on you. By the way, do you know what happened to Spike?"

"No. We want to go to the hospital before we go home," Xander demanded.

Guessing that her Slayer had a reason for not liking that idea – and judging from the look on her face, she didn't – Lou came up with a compromise. "I'll call my husband and see if there's any word. Chances are that they won't know anything for a couple hours though, so it'd be better if you waited for news at home." Several moments later, she hung up and repeated her husband's words, "Cordelia broke her leg, but they're setting it and she's awake. Buffy had to go into surgery; the doctors don't know anything yet about her condition. Rupert said that Oz told him it looked like Buffy was impaled in the middle left part of her torso, though."

The four of them walked silently to Willow's house, but when Faith and Lou continued to the hospital, Lou asked, "So why didn't you want them to come?"

Faith thought for a moment about whether she should tell. On the one hand, she didn't like to snitch, but on the other, she had no loyalty to those two and it wasn't as if she was offering the info up; Lou was asking her a direct question. "They smelled like sex. Since I caught them together a couple weeks ago, I figure they had sex with each other, not with their boyfriend and girlfriend. Since I knew either Wolf- Oz or Cordy were hurt – if not both of them – just thought it was tacky for them to be at the hospital, pretending like they cared. If they did, they wouldn't be screwing around on them."

* * *

A/N: Next…_'The Wish: AU-style'_.


	10. Chapter 10: The Wish

**Chapter 10: The Wish**

Chapter Summary: This wish is gonna be different…and not as bloody.

Timeline: post-season 3, _'Lovers Walk'_; the week following the last two chapters.

A/N: Canon change on the powers a vengeance demon has…and one other tidbit from season 1 is different because of the wish.

Warning: Not Willow or Xander-friendly. Please don't leave reviews complaining about how it's OOC for them. This is AU, people!

Thanks to my betas: not this time, so let me know if I missed anything.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Dialogue paraphrased from .

* * *

**At the hospital**

**A few hours later…**

Only Giles, Joyce and Oz were left in the waiting room by the time the doctor came out of Buffy's surgery. Shortly after Faith and Lou arrived, they and Harold left; the Ipsens needed to crash in their hotel room and Faith needed to patrol since Buffy obviously couldn't. If Joyce thought it was strange that Willow and Xander weren't there, she didn't say anything.

"Family of Buffy Summers?" a man called out.

Joyce stood immediately. "Here!" When he looked questioningly at Giles and Oz, she added, "They're close friends of the family."

He nodded. "Alright then. Well, Buffy had some cuts and abrasions from the fall, but the main concern for us was where the rebar impaled her. Turns out that it partially went through her spleen. Now normally, that would require us to remove it…and we still may need to do so. Her body has incredible healing abilities, though. Just the fact we didn't have to remove it right away makes me cautiously optimistic about her chances for a full recovery with no further surgeries."

"Can I see her?" Joyce pleaded.

"She's in recovery right now, but she'll be brought to her room shortly. I understand another girl was injured in the same fall?"

"Yeah," came Oz's clipped reply. He wasn't sure which emotion was stronger right now, the need to protect Cordy and Buffy or the anger he felt towards Willow and Xander.

Not at all put off by the brusque tone, the doctor said, "That's the room she'll be in as long as she doesn't have any post-op complications. Just to warn you, though, if you are feeling sick, you need to wear a mask while you're in the room. And at least for tonight, she'll be in a plastic tent to minimize the chances of infection."

"Thank you, doctor," Giles answered for the group since Joyce looked overwhelmed at the mention of a plastic tent. Once the doctor left, he remarked, "Maybe we should head to Cordelia's room then? Oz, would you mind getting me some tea and some coffee or tea for Ms. Summers?" He reached into his wallet to remove a few bills to hand to the boy.

Hearing the choices, Joyce ordered absently, "Coffee, one sugar, please."

* * *

**Still at the hospital**

**The next afternoon…**

Buffy woke to the sounds of bickering in her room. Actually, 'bickering' would be an understatement for the anger she could practically feel in the air. Now she could understand the phrase, 'tension so thick you could cut it with a knife'.

First came Xander's voice, ranting, "Just because you share the room with her, doesn't mean you get to decide who visits Buffy! We're her best friends and have been long before you and I ever dated! We deserve to visit her!"

Next came Cordy's, cold enough to freeze fire…or hot enough to burn ice, something like that. "You two cheaters _deserve_ to be the ones lying in these beds!"

Then a man's voice Buffy didn't recognize interjected, "I realize you are not yet adults, but perhaps you could _attempt_ civility while in public?" The English accent sort of gave away his identity to her – unless Cordy was hiding something about her dad. Mr. X must be one of Faith's new Watchers.

Attempting to break the mood, Buffy opened her eyes and added her two cents, "Yeah…it's hard to get my beauty rest with all the fighting." She tried to look around the room, but stopped when a sharp pain coursed through her torso. "Yowch! Okay, that _really_ hurts!" she yelped.

Faith chuckled at her Slayer counterpart. "No duh, B. You fell about ten feet, Queen C landed on top of you, and if that wasn't enough, you both had rebar go through you."

Buffy managed to slowly turn her head far enough to look at Cordy in the next bed. "You okay? Where'd you get hit? From what I'm feeling, I'm guessing I got it somewhere near my stomach."

"My thigh. Thankfully it missed the major arteries, but it did break my leg. Well, that or the fall did…I wasn't paying real close attention to the doctor when he explained it to me," Cordy admitted sheepishly.

"You _both_ were very fortunate. If not for your Slayer healing, you would have certainly lost your spleen…if not your life. Pardon me, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Harold Ipsen, and this is my wife, Lou," the mystery man introduced the pair she didn't recognize.

Sighing that she had to do this from a position of weakness, Buffy forged on anyway. "Not exactly how I wanted to meet you. Not sure if it'll be as convincing with me lying in a hospital bed, but what the heck…" Her eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously as she finished her statement, "Hurt Faith and there'll be no dimension where you can hide from me. I've literally gone into hell and back, so don't think I'm joking!"

The Ipsen's eyebrows rose in tandem, not at the threat, but the comment about hell. Lou was glad Faith had at least one friend who cared enough to give a warning like that. "Sounds like an interesting story. We hope to have as close of a relationship with Faith has you have with Rupert," she offered peacefully, holding out her hand to Buffy's uninjured side.

Cautiously shaking the woman's hand, Buffy relented a little. "Okay then."

Willow cleared her throat and quipped with a forced, bright smile, "So…thank goodness for Slayer healing, huh?"

"Yeah," Buffy returned the smile with considerably less enthusiasm. Remembering what she woke up to, she said, "Umm, I appreciate the visit and all, but don't you think that it's kinda tacky forcing your presence on Cordy – given what we walked in on last night? I mean, you could have called or waited until I went home, or at least made sure she was out of the room before you came."

"_We're_ your friends…why are you siding with Cordelia?" Xander demanded crossly.

Buffy wished she was feeling better so she could smack him upside the head for his stupidity. She settled for counting off her reasons with her right hand, "One, _she's_ the one in a hospital bed; it's not as if she can leave because it's uncomfortable for her to be around you. Two, she's my friend too. And three, she's the 'cheatee', not the cheater. I think she has the right to be angry about this. If you guys don't like the consequences of your actions, you shouldn't have done the deed."

Xander muttered under his breath, "Like you're one to talk!"

Whether he forgot about Slayer hearing or not, Faith and Buffy still heard him. "I'll call you when I get home and can have company. Right now I think you should leave before somebody says something worse and ruins any more friendships," Buffy warned with a hard look at the brunet.

After the pair left, Cordy said, "Thanks for taking my side, Buffy. I thought for sure that you would close ranks with them."

"I don't want to choose between _any_ of my friends. Yeah, for a while it'll be awkward, but who knows…maybe someday we'll all be friends again." Cordy just quirked an eyebrow in disbelief, so Buffy tacked on, "Okay, so it'd be _way_ in the future. All I ask is that you don't expect me to badmouth them, 'k?"

"Fine. Don't expect me _not_ to," Cordy retorted.

Buffy chuckled, then winced as it caused another jolt of pain. "Deal."

* * *

**Bronze**

**An hour later…**

After they got their drinks and sat down, Willow continued the rant that had been going on since they left the hospital an hour before, "Can you believe her? We're supposed to be her best friends, but she tells _us_ to leave!"

Xander scoffed, "Doesn't surprise me. You honestly expected better of somebody who can't even do her job right? Loyalty means nothing to somebody like her."

"Still…" Willow growled in frustration, "…After all we've done for her! Heck, she wouldn't even be _alive_ if it weren't for you!"

"You know, she probably only became our friend so you'd help her with her homework," Xander suggesting, despite knowing deep down that it wasn't true.

But it had the desired effect to cause Willow's eyes to widen in remembrance. "That's right! That's the first thing she talked to me about!" she exclaimed.

A woman sitting at the table next to them came over and sat down uninvited. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. Sounds like somebody scorned you. What did they do?" she asked with a concerned look.

"We had a fight with Xander's ex-girlfriend and Buffy sided with Cordelia instead of us. We're her best friends; Cordelia's only semi-nice to her because…well, not for friend reasons," Willow finished lamely. Despite being angry at Buffy, she couldn't bring herself to mention vampires or Slayers. She also conveniently described the fight in a way that didn't make her and Xander look like the bad guys.

"We even lost our best friend, Jesse, because of Buffy. Apparently she's forgotten _that_, too!" Xander snarled, piling more wood on the bonfire of Buffy's metaphorical effigy burning.

The woman deflated somewhat, but asked in a hopeful tone, "So you weren't scorned because of a man?"

Willow thought for a moment, then said, "Well, there was Angel. She cared more about him than us."

'_**Ah, what the heck…the scorned woman I felt earlier doesn't feel as scorned anymore. Might as well do something so it isn't a wasted trip,' **_the woman thought before saying out loud, "That kind of disloyalty deserves to be punished, don't you think? Don't you _wish_ something really bad would happen to this Buffy?"

Despite the question being asked to Willow, Xander piped up, "Yeah, I wish that she'd disappear forever!"

Fighting the urge to hex the boy silent, the woman turned directly to Willow and inquired, "What about you? Do you _wish_ the same thing?"

Willow almost nodded, then caught herself before she could utter the words. An evil smile crossed her lips as she came up with what she thought would be the perfect revenge. "Hmm…that's not good enough for me."

The woman leaned forward, eagerly anticipating the wish. "Oh yeah? What would you wish then?" she demanded excitedly, mentally picturing lots of bloodshed and mayhem.

"She didn't deserve good friends like us, right?" Willow started. Xander nodded vigorously and the strange woman nodded impatiently. "Then I wish that she got the kind of friends somebody like her deserves instead!" she proclaimed.

"Really?" With a disgusted sigh at the probably blood-free wish, Anyanka, the vengeance demon of scorned women, felt the compulsion from her amulet to grant it anyway, and said half-heartedly, "Done."

As the wish unfolded, she found she wasn't able to completely re-write history – something about the time the wishee spent in a hell dimension blocking any serious changes before that? – so the spell began to unravel the friendship shortly after Buffy's return to Sunnydale.

* * *

**Wishverse Hospital**

**Same time…**

Setting down the two chocolate boxes she brought, Amy babbled, "I'm so sorry you guys got hurt trying to rescue me."

Buffy waved off the apology, even as she snitched a chocolate truffle. "Don't worry about it, Aims; it's not as if you weakened the stairs we fell through or anything. Just remind me to stake Spike the second I see him next time…save us all a lot of aggravation in the future."

"So when are you getting out of here?" Amy asked the bedridden pair.

Cordy finished swallowing her chocolate-covered cherry, then said, "I'm out this afternoon when my parents show up."

Buffy pouted that she was losing her roommate. "Unfortunately, they want me to stay for another day. Apparently, almost losing a spleen is a big deal or something," she remarked airily.

Almost laughing at the blasé way Buffy was treating a life-threatening injury, Amy reminded her, "That's because they don't know about Slayer healing. Wouldn't it be cool to have a doctor who did?"

Buffy swiped another chocolate and quipped, "Feel free to study medicine then. Maybe you can help the Slayer after Faith…or however many 'afters' it would be before you graduate medical school," she finished rather morbidly.

Blushing, Amy replied, "Actually, I already was thinking about going into medicine. Not sure if I want to be a doctor or nurse though. See, after you saved me from my mother, I knew I wanted to help you somehow. Even with training, I know that I'm more of a liability to you on patrol. Research is good, but Giles is way better at it than I could ever be. Then I saw how often you got hurt and decided that maybe being a nurse would be the way to go."

"So that's why you knew CPR when you, Xander and Angel came to the Master's lair?" Buffy asked. She had wondered at her good fortune to have a friend who could revive her.

"Yeah," Amy answered with a nod. "Started taking a first aid course and the first thing they taught us was CPR."

"Well, it worked out great for me. Maybe we should all learn some basic first aid. It wouldn't help if _you_ were the one who needed CPR next time. Whatta think, Cordy?" Buffy asked, pulling the brunette back into the conversation.

"If we must," Cordy said with a put-upon sigh, then went into full Queen C mode, "I'm still trying to figure out why I'm friends with you guys now that I've dumped the dweeb."

"Maybe 'cause we have to save you almost every week? It's a lot easier to do that if you're already nearby," Buffy retorted sardonically. Realizing that Cordy was still trying to play a roll, she grew serious, and added, "Or you've come to realize that being Queen C isn't as important as what we do?"

"Yeah…whatever," Cordy replied with an almost hidden smile. "Hopefully Mac will get here soon and distract you by hovering over you and tending to your every whim. You've got that boy whipped with a capital 'W'."

Buffy blushed brightly, then denied the charge, "He's not whipped; he's just a concerned friend."

"Where can I get a concerned friend like that?" Amy asked, mentally drooling over the hottie that showed up when Buffy came back from LA at the end of summer.

"I don't know; I met him after my little trip into Ken's hell," Buffy said, then proceeded to tell the girls the story of meeting Mac once she rescued Lily and the others.

* * *

A/N: Next…_'Earshot'_. Yes, I know it doesn't come next in canon, but I want it next anyway. I think Mac's story will be a companion piece since it has a lot of non-BtVS stuff in it. His story will end with him meeting Buffy in the shelter (still have to write it though).


End file.
